Vermilion_darter
Vermilion darter
Species of fish
The vermilion darter (Etheostoma chermocki) 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 southern United States, where it only is found in Turkey Creek in Jefferson County, Alabama, part of the Mobile Bay drainage basin.[2] It was first described by Herbert Boschung in 1992, who was the curator of ichthyology at the University of Alabama, along with biologist Richard Mayden and scientific illustrator Joseph Tomelleri.[3] On December 7, 2010, the US Fish and Wildlife Service designated 13 mi (21 km) of Turkey Creek watershed as critical habitat for the darter.[4] According to the IUCN, the population of this fish is declining.[5]