Percina peltata

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Percina peltata, the shield darter, is a small freshwater fish in the perch family. It is listed as Least Concern by conservation groups and is found only in the eastern United States.

Size and appearance: It can grow up to 9 cm long, though 6.4 cm is more common. The back is olive to tan, with 6–7 horizontal black blotches along the sides, usually connected by a thin black stripe. These blotches link to 8–11 dark saddle marks with wavy brown lines. It has a black spot at the base of the tail and a large black teardrop mark on the head, plus a row of black crescent marks at the base of the first dorsal fin.

Distribution: The shield darter lives in the Atlantic Slope drainages from the Hudson and Susquehanna rivers in New York to the James River in Virginia. A non-native population exists in Rondout Creek and parts of the Hudson River drainage in New York, likely from the Delaware and Hudson Canal.

Habitat: It favors moderate-sized creeks with gravel and rubble bottoms and a strong current.

Diet: It feeds on small aquatic invertebrates and on terrestrial invertebrates that fall into the water.

Reproduction: Spawning takes place over fine gravel with some large rocks, mainly from mid-April to May. Males establish territories on gravel deposited downstream of larger rocks and defend them from other males within about 3.3 meters (though most defense occurs within 60 cm). Eggs are buried in the gravel, and mating lasts about 10–15 seconds.

Taxonomy note: Percina peltata was first described in 1864 as Etheostoma peltatum by Jacob Stauffer, with the type locality in the Conestoga River near Lancaster, Pennsylvania.