Coosa Darter

The Coosa darter is a robust species of darter which can be identified by having a blunt snout with a small mouth. The spiny part of its dorsal fin is marked with bands of color and has a central red band along the whole of its length, although it does not possess the anterior ocellus found in many other species in the subgenus Ulocentra. Above and below this central band there are alternating clear and dark bands. In the soft-rayed part of the dorsal fin, the middle part of the membranes between each ray is red. The color of the body is yellow-olive, marked with 8–9 dark blotches located dorsally and on the flanks. The lower snout and the throat are pale green, while the anal fin and upper and lower lobes of the caudal fin are turquoise. The blotches along the flank have a slightly green hue. The maximum recorded total length for this species is 7.2 centimetres (2.8 in), although the standard length of males is more commonly around 4.1 centimetres (1.6 in) and of females 3.9 centimetres (1.5 in).

The Coosa darter is only found in the Coosa River system, which drains into Mobile Bay in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.