Etheostoma sellare Radcliffe & Welsh, 1913 "1912"
Maryland darter
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Hadropterus sellaris Radcliffe & Welsh, 1913 "1912" (original combination); Poeclichthys sellaris Radcliffe & Welsh, 1913 "1912"
Conservation Status
Missing (Jelks et al., 2008:406; Kilian et al., 2010/2011) or Extinct (Burkhead, 2012; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2021)
Last (and only) record: 2 May 1912 (type specimens) (Radcliffe & Welsh, 1913)
Rediscovered in: 1962 (Knapp et al., 1963; Kilian et al., 2010/2011)
Last record: 1988 (Raesly, 1991, 1992, 2010; Suckling et al. 2004; Kilian et al., 2010/2011)
IUCN RedList status: Extinct
Estimated date of extinction: 1988 (Burkhead, 2012)
The Maryland Darter (Etheostoma sellare) was originally described based upon two specimens*, both sub-adult males, collected in 1912 and described as coming from "Swan Creek, near Havre de Grace, Md.," (the type locality). However, subsequent attempts to collect the species failed until 1962 when Cornell University students serendipitously discovered a juvenile individual amongst a group of Tesselated darters which they had collected earlier (Knapp et al., 1963; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1985). The first live specimen collected from the wild was in 1965 (Knapp, 1976; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1985). Numerous specimens were collected and preserved between 1962 and 1971, and the species continued to be captured and released until 1988 when the final reports of this species were made (Ibid.). A renewed effort was made to locate the species in 2009 (The BayNet.com, 2009), however it unfortunately met with no success. Hern (2011) reported a similar failure.
* Neely et al. (2003) commit two factual errors when they state that the species was described based on a single specimen collected in 1911. A reading of the original paper (available online) clearly mentions two specimens captured on May 2, 1912 and not 1911 as (Ibid.) state.
Distribution & Habitat
Maryland, USA
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Holotype: USNM 74346 (sub-adult male)
Type locality: "Swan Creek, near Havre de Grace, Md.,"
Other specimens:
According to (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1985) 80 specimens are preserved in museum collections, and none of these dates to after 1971. However that publication was published in 1985 and yet the Maryland Darter was last seen in 1988. So it is possible that other specimens were preserved in the final years of the species' existence (one specimen was collected in 1985: https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/100years/maryland-darter/).
USNM 212146.5070814 (1 fish)
See here: http://www.fishnet2.net/search.aspx
Media
Above: illustration by Aleta Pahl, from Ono et al. (1983)
For a photo of a living individual taken on 1 November 1974 by Jim Williams see (Deacon et al., 1979:39).
References
Original scientific description:
Radcliffe, Lewis and Welsh, William W. (1913 "1912"). Description of a new darter from Maryland. Bulletin of the Bureau of Fisheries 32: 29-32.
Other references:
Burkhead, Noel M. (2012). Extinction Rates in North American Freshwater Fishes, 1900–2010. BioScience 62(9): 798-808.
Carter, W. R. (1979). Maryland darter investigation, 17 September 1979. Memorandum to Mr. Charles Frisbie, Maryland Darter Recovery Team. Annapolis, Maryland.
Deacon, James E., Kobetich, Gail, Williams, James D. and Contreras, Salvador. (1979). Fishes of North America endangered, threatened, or of special concern: 1979. Fisheries 4(2): 29-44.
Foster, J. W. S., III and Early, R. S. (1979). Notes from observations of the Maryland darter, Etheostoma sellare, at riffle below Stafford bridge, Deer Creek, on May 8, 1979. Memorandum to Mr. Charles Frisbie, Maryland Darter Recovery Team. Annapolis, Maryland.
Harrison, I. J. and Stiassny, M. L. J. (1999). The Quiet Crisis. A preliminary listing of the freshwater fishes of the world that are Extinct or “Missing in Action", pp. 271-331. In: MacPhee, R. D. E. (ed.). Extinctions in Near Time. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
Hern, Tyler Russell. (2011). Rediscovering the Maryland Darter (Etheostoma sellare). Masters Thesis, Graduate College of Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia. 157 pp. [documents an unsuccessful attempt to relocate the species]
Hubbs, C.L. and J.D. Black. (1940). Percid fishes related to Poecilichthys variatus, with description of three new forms. Mus. Zool. Univ. Mich. Occ. Pap. No. 416. 33 pp.
Jelks, Howard L., Walsh, Stephen J., Burkhead, Noel M., Contreras-Balderas, Salvador, Díaz-Pardo, Edmundo, Hendrickson, Dean A., Lyons, J., Mandrak, Nicholas E., McCormick, Frank, Nelson, Joseph F., Platania, Steven P., Porter, Brady A., Renaud, Claude B., Schmitter-Soto, Juan Jacabo, Taylor, Eric B. and Warren, Melvin L. Jr. (2008). Conservation status of imperiled North American freshwater and diadromous fishes. Fisheries 33(8): 372-407.
Kilian, J. and Raesly, R. (2012). Maryland darter Survey (May-Sept. 2012). Final Report submitted to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Chesapeake Bay Field Office, Annapolis, Maryland.
Kilian, J., Raesly, R., Jones, T. and Moser, A. (2010 or 2011). Surveys for the Endangered Maryland Darter (August 2008–September 2010). Final report submitted to US Fish and Wildlife Service, Chesapeake Field Office.
Knapp, Leslie. (1974). Darter in danger. Env. Action 6(5/6): 21.
Knapp, Leslie W. (1976). Redescription, relationships and status of the Maryland darter, Etheostoma sellare (Radcliffe & Welsh), an endangered species. Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 89(6): 99-118.
Knapp, Leslie, William J. Richards, Robert V. Miller and Neil R. Foster. (1963). Rediscovery of the percid fish Etheostoma sellare (Radcliffe and Welsh). Copeia 1963(2): 455.
Kuehne, R.A. and Barbour, R.W. 1983. The American Darters. University Press of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.
Lee, D.S., Gilbert, C.R., Hocutt, C.H., Jenkins, R.E., McAllister, D.E. and Stauffer, J.R., Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Maryland Department of Natural Resources. (1977). The Maryland darter, an endangered species. Information pamphlet prepared under contract with the USFWS. 5 pp.
Matthews, J.R. and Moseley, C.J. (eds). 1990. The Official World Wildlife Fund Guide to Endangered Species of North America. Volume 1. Plants, Mammals. xxiii + pp 1-560 + 33 pp. appendix + 6 pp. glossary + 16 pp. index, pp. 1180. Beacham Publications, Inc., Washington, D.C.
NatureServe. (2013). Etheostoma sellare. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013: e.T8128A18230889. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T8128A18230889.en. Accessed on 18 June 2022.
David A. Neely, Amy E. Hunter and Richard L. Mayden. (2003). Threatened Fishes of the World: Etheostoma sellare (Radcliffe & Welsh) 1913 (Percidae). Environmental Biology of Fishes 67(4): 340.
Nelson, J. S., Crossman, E. J., Espinosa-Perez, H., Findley, L. T., Gilbert, C. R., Lea, R. N. and Williams, J. D. (2004). Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 29, Bethesda, Maryland. 386 pp.
Normandeau Associates, Inc. (2012). Updated Study Report. Maryland Darter Survey. RSP 3.0. Conowingo Hydroelectric project. FERC Project Number 405.
Ono, R. Dana, Williams, James D. and Wagner, Anne [with painting by Aleta Pahel]. (1983). Vanishing Fishes of North America. Washington DC: Stone Wall Press, Inc. 257 pp.
Page, L.M. 1983. Handbook of Darters. T. F. H. Publications, Inc., Neptune City, New Jersey.
Page, L.M. and Burr, B.M. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes: North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts.
Page, L.M. and Burr, B.M. 2011. Peterson field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston, Massachusetts.
Raesly, R. L. (1991). Population Status of the Endangered Maryland Darter, Etheostoma sellare, in Deer Creek. Report submitted to the Maryland Natural Heritage Program, 28 pp.
Raesly, R. L. (1992). Population Status of the Endangered Maryland Darter, Etheostoma sellare (Radcliffe and Welsh). Report submitted to the Maryland Natural Heritage Program, 13 pp.
Raesly, R. L. (1996). Summary of Proposed Work for the Determination of the Population Status of the Maryland Darter, Etheostoma sellare, 6 pp.
Raesly, R. L. (2010). Maryland Darter Survey (October 2009 – September 2010). Final Report. Submitted to Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program. Annapolis, Maryland.
Robins, C.R., Bailey, R.M., Bond, C.E., Brooker, J.R., Lachner, E.A., Lea, R.N. and Scott, W.B. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society.
Stauffer, J. R., Jr. and Arnold, D. E. (1986). Survey to locate additional populations of the endangered Maryland darter (Etheostoma sellare). Final Report. Submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Annapolis, Maryland.
Stephens, Robert R., Johnson, Keith A. and Grady, Mary P. (2014). Phylogenetic Placement of the Extinct Etheostoma sellare and Other Darters with a Compilation of Morphological Character State Polarizations for Darters. Copeia 2014(3): 540-555. [Abstract]
Suckling, Kieran, Slack, Rhiwena and Nowicki, Brian. (2004). Extinct and the Endangered Species Act. Centre For Biological Diversity. 63 pp.
The BayNet.com. (2009). "DNR BIOLOGISTS USE NEW TECHNIQUE TO LOOK FOR RARE FISH", http://www.thebaynet.com, Accessed 24/4/2012.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 1967. Native fish and wildlife: endangered species. Federal Register 32(48): 4001.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (1978). Maryland darter. Endang. Spec. Tech. Bull. 3(6):8.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (1980a). Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants; proposed designation of critical habitat for the endangered Maryland darter. Fed. Reg. 45(169):57680-57682.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (1980b). Critical habitat proposed for Maryland darter. Endang. Spec. Tech. Bull. 5(9):5-6.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (1982). Maryland Darter Recovery Plan. Maryland. 16pp.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (1985). Revised Maryland Darter Recovery Plan. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Newton Corner, MA. 38 pp.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 1990. Endangered and threatened species recovery program: report to Congress.
USFWS. 1996. 90-Day Finding for a Petition To De-List the Maryland Darter (Etheostoma sellare). United States Fish and Wildlife Service, February 15, 1996, 61 FR 5971.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (2021). Maryland Darter (Etheostoma sellare) 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation. Chesapeake Bay Field Office, Annapolis, Maryland: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Vardakas, Leonidas, Perdikaris, Costas, Freyhof, Jörg, Zimmerman, Brian, Ford, Matthew, Vlachopoulos, Konstantinos, Koutsikos, Nicholas, Karaouzas, Ioannis, Chamoglou, Maria and Kalogianni, Eleni. (2025). Global Patterns and Drivers of Freshwater Fish Extinctions: Can We Learn From Our Losses? Global Change Biology 31(5): e70244. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70244 [Table S1]
Williams, Jack E., Johnson, James E., Hendrickson, Dean A., Contreras-Balderas, Salvador, Williams, James D., Navarro-Mendoza, Miguel, McAllister, Don E. and Deacon, James E. (1989). Fishes of North America endangered, threatened, or of special concern: 1989. Fisheries 14(6): 2-20.
World Conservation Monitoring Centre. (1996). Etheostoma sellare. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. (http://www.iucnredlist.org). Downloaded on 24 April 2012.
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/mydnr/CreatureFeature/md_darter.asp
http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/life_histories/E003.html
http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/federal_register/fr2936.pdf
http://ecos.fws.gov/docs/five_year_review/doc1173.pdf
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/100years/maryland-darter/
http://extinctanimals.proboards.com/thread/1659/etheostoma-sellare