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Great Lakes Water Life Photo GalleryFishPerch |
Family: Percidae - Perches
Distribution and Habitat
N=Native, I=Introduced (exotic), X=Extinct, P=Extirpated
| Image/Link | Scientific Name | Common Name | Lake Superior | Lake Michigan | Lake Huron |
Lake Erie | Lake Ontario | Habitat |
| Family: Percidae | perches | |||||||
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Ammocrypta clara | western sand darter | N | river, tributaries only | ||||
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Ammocrypta pellucida | eastern sand darter | N | river | ||||
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Etheostoma blenniodes | greenside darter | N | N | N | N | stream/creek/river | |
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Etheostoma caeruleum | rainbow darter | N | N | N | N | stream/creek/river, tributaries only | |
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Etheostoma chlorosomum | bluntnose darter | ? | stream/creek, tributaries only | ||||
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Etheostoma exile | Iowa darter | N | N | N | N | N | stream/creek/river/littoral |
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Etheostoma flabellare | fantail darter | N | N | N | N | N | stream/creek |
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Etheostoma microperca | least darter | N | N | N | N | N | stream/creek, tributaries only |
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Etheostoma nigrum | Johnny darter | N | N | N | N | N | stream/creek/river/littoral |
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Etheostoma olmstedi | tesselated darter | N | stream/creek/river | ||||
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Etheostoma spectabile | orangethroat darter | N | stream/creek, tributaries only | ||||
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Etheostoma zonale | banded darter | N | stream/creek/river, tributaries only | ||||
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Gymnocephalus cernuus | ruffe | I | |||||
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Perca flavescens | yellow perch | N | N | N | N | N | stream/creek/river/littoral |
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Percina caprodes | logperch | N | N | N | N | N | stream/creek/river/littoral |
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Percina copelani | channel darter | N | N | N | river/littoral | ||
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Percina evides | gilt darter | P | stream/creek/river, tributaries only | ||||
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Percina maculata | blackside darter | N | N | N | N | stream/creek/river | |
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Percina phoxocephala | slenderhead darter | N | stream/creek/river, tributaries only | ||||
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Percina shumardi | river darter | N | N | N | river | ||
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Stizostedion canadense | sauger | N | N | N | N | N | river/littoral |
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Stizostedion vitreum vitreum | walleye | N | N | N | N | N | river/littoral |
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Stizostedion vitreum galucum | blue pike | X | X | river/littoral, open water | |||
Table modified from "The Life of the Lakes: A Guide to the Great Lakes Fishery" MI Sea GRant Extension, Michigan State University.
Species Profiles
Ammocrypta clara - western sand darter |
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Usually in sandy bottom of larger rivers. Sand darters are nearly transparent in life, but become opaque upon preservation. Feed on aquatic insects (chironomids, tiny crustaceans, small insect larvae ). Length to 6 cm. |
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Ammocrypta pellucida - eastern sand darter |
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 Profile
- Inland Fishes of New YorkScientific
Profile - University of Michigan Museum of Zoology |
Sand darters are nearly transparent in life, but become opaque upon death and preservation. Feed on small benthos. Length to 7 cm |
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Etheostoma blennioides - greenside darter |
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| Profile
- Inland Fishes of New YorkScientific
Profile - University of Michigan Museum of Zoology |
Feed on midges and crustaceans. Length to 9 cm. | |
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Etheostoma caeruleum - rainbow darter |
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Rainbow darters are often used as biological indicators because they do not tolerate most forms of water pollution. Ordinarily on gravel substrate in creeks. Young rainbow darters eat mostly copepods and small midge larvae. As they grow into adulthood, the size of their food gets larger and they eat a greater variety of items including midge, caddisfly, mayfly, and stonefly larvae; waterfleas; water mites; young crayfish; and snails. They also eat the developing eggs of minnows and other darters. Length to 7 cm. |
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Additional Photos: |
Etheostoma chlorosomum - bluntnose darter |
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In quiet, muddy waters. Feed on benthos. Length to 5 cm. |
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Etheostoma exile - Iowa darter |
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On sandy to muddy bottoms near vegetation, in cool lakes and quiet streams. Unlike most darters, Iowa darters prefer still or slow-moving water. In lakes and ponds Iowa darters eat mostly copepods, waterfleas of various sorts, and midge larvae. As they grow they add sideswimmers and larger midge larvae. In streams and rivers Iowa darters eat mostly midge and mayfly larvae and amphipods. Length to 7 cm. | |
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Additional Photos: |
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Etheostoma flabellare - fantail darter |
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Eats midge larvae, isopods, amphipods and other aquatic insects. Length to 8 cm. | |
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Additional Artwork: Additional Photos: |
Etheostoma microperca - least darter |
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Climb in dense vegetation in quiet waters. Least darters eat small food items that include a variety of copepods, waterfleas, midge larvae, and mayfly larvae. Length 4 cm in females, 2.5 cm in males. |
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Etheostoma nigrum - Johnny darter |
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Johnny darters are among the first fishes to move into new aquatic habitats or to recolonize a stream after a catastrophe. They prefer clear water with sandy or gravely bottoms and slow or still waters, but they do very well in moderately turbid (cloudy), moving water. They seem to tolerate many kinds of water pollution, more so then other darters species. Young Johnny darters eat mostly small copepods and waterfleas. As they grow, they add larger waterfleas, midge larvae, mayfly larvae, caddisfly larvae and sometimes sideswimmers to their diet. Length to 7 cm. Males grow faster and reach a larger size than the females do. |
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Additional Photos: |
Etheostoma olmstedi - tesselated darter |
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| Profile
- Inland Fishes of New YorkScientific
Profile - University of Michigan Museum of Zoology |
Feed on small benthos. Length to 7 cm. |
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Etheostoma spectabile - orangethroat darter |
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| Scientific
Profile - University of Michigan Museum of Zoology |
Feed on small benthos (chironomids, tiny crustaceans, small insect larvae ). Length to 7 cm. |
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Etheostoma zonale - banded darter |
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On riffles, particularly in algae and other vegetation. Feed on aquatic insects. Length to 6 cm. | |
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Additional artwork: Additional Photos: |
Gymnocephalus cernuus - ruffe |
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From Eurasia; introduced to western Lake Superior
in ballast water of shipping tankers. Slowly spreading to lower lakes.
Feed on aquatic invertebrates. Length to 25 cm. |
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Additional Photos: |
Perca flavescens - yellow perch |
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Schools found in clear waters with moderate vegetation and a sand/gravel or mud/silt bottom often suspended in the middle of the water column. Larval yellow perch commonly eat copepods, waterfleas, and other small crustaceans. Juveniles quickly begin to include bigger items such as aquatic insect larvae and larval fish. By the end of their first growing season, perch are including small fish, crayfish, leeches, and snails in their diet. Adults continue to eat all of these items, but include more fish as they get larger. Length to 37 cm. Female yellow perch grow faster and reach an overall bigger size than males do. Record=14.5 inches. |
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Additional drawings/artwork: Additional Photos: |
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Percina caprodes - logperch |
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Found at depths to 30m. Food search often assisted by turning over stones with their long, pointed snout. Juvenile logperch eat a mixture of tiny organisms such as rotifers, copepods, and waterfleas. As logperch grow, they incorporate a greater variety of small aquatic creatures. They eat mostly aquatic insects (especially mayfly and midge larvae), but include young snails, waterfleas, leeches, and fish eggs (including their own) when available. Length to 18 cm. Our largest darter. | ||
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Additional Drawings/Artwork: Additional Photos: |
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Percina copelandi - channel darter |
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Living in the main lakes and in deep current of lower parts of tributaries. Feed on small aquatic invertebrates. Length to 6 cm. | |
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Percina evides - gilt darter |
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Breeding males are brilliantly colored; the back of the fish and the lateral blotches become an intense, iridescent blue-green, while the ventral portions of the body and head, the spinous dorsal fin and the area between the blotches become brilliant yellow and orange, the latter sometimes punctuated with reddish dots. Important indicators of degraded water quality. They are especially sensitive to sediment loading and probably to organic loading from sewage effluents. Gilt darters are diurnal feeders, feeding most heavily in the afternoon hours. Opportunistic feeding according to the availability of accessable surface-dwelling insects. Juveniles eat caddisfly larvae As caddisfly larvae decreased in relative importance in the diet, midge and black fly larvae increased. Mayfly naiads were most important in the diet of very young darters and in the diet of pre-spawning adults. Length to 7 cm. |
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Percina maculata - blackside darter |
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Usually in weak currents of streams; in midwater when young and often when adult. Young blackside darters begin by eating mostly small crustaceans, like waterfleas and copepods, but they switch quickly to insect larvae. Adults eat a greater variety of insect larvae, including mayflies, midges, and caddisflies. They also include a small amount of plant matter, other insect larvae, waterfleas and other crustaceans, fish eggs, and even larval fish. Length to 11cm. | |
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Percina phoxocephala - slenderhead darter |
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Feed on aquatic insects (dipteran, mayfly and caddisfly larvae). Length to 8 cm. |
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Percina shumardi - river darter |
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Generally in deeper waters of larger streams, on soft to gravelly bottoms. Feed on aquatic insect nymphs. Length to 8 cm. |
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Stizostedion canadense (Alt Sander canadensis) - sauger |
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Feeds on fish, crayfish, and insects. Length to 50 cm; weight to over 3 lbs. | |
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Additional Drawings/Artwork: Additional Photos: |
Stizostedion vitreum vitreum (Alt Sander vitreus) - walleye |
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Walleye prefer slightly turbid water with reefs, gravel shoals, rock or other hard bottoms. Walleye are piscivores (fish-eaters) and will eat any species of fish they can catch and swallow. Larval and young juvenile walleye consume copepods, waterfleas, and small insect larvae, but quickly add larval fish to their diets. Adults prefer emerald shiners, gizzard shad, alewife and rainbow smelt. Walleye are light sensitive and feed primarily at night. Length typically to 75 cm; weight to 16 lbs. Record = 33 inches. | ||
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Additional drawings/artwork: Additional Photos: |
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Stizostedion vitreum galucum (Alt Sander glaucus)- blue pike |
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Extinct since 1960s. Once caught by commercial fishermen especially in deeper, cooler E Lake Erie. Diagnosed by life history traits and a combination of walleye and sauger characteristics. Hybridized with walleyes. (Blue walleyes in Lake Huron and interior lakes of Ontario and Manitoba, with smaller eye and yellow lower fins, are walleyes, not blue pikes.) Fed on fishes and invertebrates. Length to 36 cm; weight to about 2 lbs. |
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