Etheostoma hopkinsi (Fowler, 1945)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Christmas darter (Etheostoma hopkinsi) is a species of ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae which includes the perches, ruffes and pike-perches. It is found in the Savannah, Ogeechee and Altamaha catchment areas in South Carolina and Georgia. It is a small but colorful fish, typically less than 5 cm (2 in) in total length, with blackish, red and green streaks on its flanks. Green and red are associated with Christmas, hence the common name Christmas darter. Like other darters, it lives on or close to the stream-bed, in riffles and vegetation-laden stretches of small rivers, creeks and spring-fed streams. It feeds on aquatic insects and probably breeds in the spring, but its biology and behavior are poorly known. The Christmas darter is closely related to the Savannah darter and the Christmas Eve or Hannukah darter, the latter of which is sometimes considered a subspecies of the Christmas darter rather than a species in its own right.
Wikipedia contributors, Christmas darter; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:29:56.838539+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Etheostoma hopkinsi (Fowler, 1945)
- Name authority
- (Fowler, 1945)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Percidae
- Genus
- Etheostoma
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderPerciformes
- suborderPercoidei
- familyPercidae Rafinesque, 1815
- subfamilyEtheostomatinae Agassiz, 1850
- genusEtheostoma Rafinesque, 1819
- speciesEtheostoma hopkinsi (Fowler, 1945)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Etheostoma. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Etheostoma artesiae (Hay, 1881) | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma asprigene (Forbes, 1878) | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma autumnale Mayden, 2010 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma barbouri Kuehne & Small, 1971 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma basilare Page, Hardman & Near, 2003 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma bellator Suttkus & Bailey, 1993 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma bison Ceas & Page, 1997 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma boschungi Wall & Williams, 1974 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma burri Ceas & Page, 1997 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma cervus Powers & Mayden, 2003 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma chermocki Boschung, Mayden & Tomelleri, 1992 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etheostoma chlorobranchium Zorach, 1972 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Poecilichthys hopkinsi Fowler, 1945 Fowler, 1945 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1525052 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3BL48. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.