Snail darter
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| Percina tanasi Etnier, 1976 |
The snail darter is a small (up to 9 cm long) fish native to waters of East Tennessee. It is a variety of darter (fish) which feeds primarily on aquatic snails.
The snail darter was declared an endangered species in 1975, under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973. By the 1980s it was clear that the fish was not in fact endangered and it was removed from the list of endangered species maintained by the US Government.
Because of the 1970s controversy around this fish, "snail darter" became a term that is shorthand as a reference to environmental extremism.
- Further information: Snail darter controversy
[edit] References
- Gimenez Dixon (1996). Percina tanasi. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Listed as Vulnerable (VU D2 v2.3)
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