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The Trispot Darter

Trispot Darter is a Coosa system fish with seasonal use of headwaters for spawning. Adults feed on small aquatic insect immatures.

Range and Identity

Etheostoma trisella is recorded from the Coosa system across portions of Georgia, Alabama and southeastern Tennessee. The watershed is the appropriate geographic context. A historical locality and a modern survey are different records and should retain their own dates.

Habitat and Behavior

The compiled account describes sand and gravel runs in creeks and small rivers, with spawning in headwaters. These seasonal habitats should remain distinct. A fish's position outside the breeding period does not automatically identify the location used for reproduction.

Food and Life History

The upper reference is 5.9 centimeters total length, with 3.6 centimeters as common. Foods include midge larvae and mayfly nymphs. Eggs are attached to substrate without guarding in the checked description, unlike the guarded under-stone clutches of some other darters.

Field Note

Record the season, tributary and habitat together. These details help explain movement between ordinary stream habitat and headwater spawning areas without assuming that every reach serves the same role.

All Lakes With Trispot Darter

Browse lakes and reservoirs with documented Trispot Darter records, listed alphabetically. Records do not establish current abundance or public access. Check the evidence and managing authority for the water you choose.

No published lakes are currently linked to this species in our confirmed records.

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