---
title: "Orangethroat Darter"
description: "Etheostoma spectabile — Fish. The orangethroat darter (Etheostoma spectabile) 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."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/orangethroat-darter
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Orangethroat Darter

> Etheostoma spectabile — Fish. The orangethroat darter (Etheostoma spectabile) 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.

- Scientific name: *Etheostoma spectabile*
- Category: `fish` (Fish)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers)
- iNaturalist observations: 3343
- Wikidata: [Q1166904](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1166904)
- iNaturalist taxon: [100544](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/100544)

## Names

- en: Orangethroat Darter
- de: Orangekehliger Springbarsch

## Countries with the most observations

US (3233)

## Summary

The orangethroat darter (Etheostoma spectabile) 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 central and eastern United States where it is native to parts of the Mississippi River Basin and Lake Erie Basin. 
Its typical habitat includes shallow gravel riffles in cooler streams and rocky runs and pools in headwaters, creeks, and small rivers, with sand, gravel, rubble, or rock substrates. It forages on the bottom for the aquatic larvae of midges, blackfly, mayfly and…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orangethroat_darter

## Photo

![Orangethroat Darter](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/orangethroat-darter/medium.jpg)

Photo: Nick Loveland · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/71903645

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/orangethroat-darter?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).