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Olive Darter
Scientific name: Percina squamata
Size: To 5 in.
Range: Kentucky, North Carolina and Tennessee in the Cumberland and Tennessee river systems
Habitat: Extremely fast current in upland streams with bedrock or boulder bottoms
Diet: Aquatic insect larvae
Conservation status: Special Concern
Olive darters live in areas with very fast current, which makes it hard for humans to study them. Because little is known about the populations of olive darters, they are one of the upper Tennessee River fish species we are studying to learn more about their levels of genetic diversity.
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