Nothonotus microlepidus (Raney & Zorach, 1967)
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
Nothonotus microlepidus, the smallscale darter, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, a darter from the subfamily Etheostomatinae, part of the family Percidae, which also contains the perches, ruffes and pikeperches. It is endemic to the southeastern United States. It occurs in the lower Cumberland River drainage in the states of Kentucky and Tennessee. It inhabits shallow riffles with gravel substrates in small rivers. Breeding habits of the smallscale darter are typical of the N. maculatus group in that females deposit large masses of eggs on the undersides of rocks to be protected by the males. This species is a fairly large, deep-bodied fish with dark background coloration mixed with bright red spots scattered alongside the body. Nuptial males of this species also have deep green fins with orange margins on the spinous dorsal and caudal fins, with the soft dorsal fins having a dark coloration moving marginally to yellow-orangish center with black margins. This species can reach a length of 7.2 centimetres (2.8 in) TL though most only reach about 4.8 centimetres (1.9 in).
Wikipedia contributors, Smallscale darter; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:21:51.557652+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Nothonotus microlepidus (Raney & Zorach, 1967)
- Name authority
- (Raney & Zorach, 1967)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Percidae
- Genus
- Nothonotus
- 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
- genusNothonotus Putnam, 1863
- speciesNothonotus microlepidus (Raney & Zorach, 1967)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Nothonotus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Nothonotus starnesi Keck & Near, 2013 | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nothonotus aquali (Williams & Etnier, 1978) | PercidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nothonotus sanguifluus (Cope, 1870) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Etheostoma microlepidum Raney & Zorach, 1967 Raney & Zorach, 1967 | 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=1013407 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:47TG3. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.