Roanoke logperch
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| Roanoke logperch | ||||||||||||||
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| Percina rex Jordan & Jenkins, 1889 |
The Roanoke logperch, Percina rex, is a small freshwater fish found in the Roanoke and Chowan drainages. They inhabit low and moderate-gradient streams and rivers in warm, clear water in mostly unsilted gravel and rubble in runs, pools, and riffles. They are primarily insectivorous. It is a federally listed endangered species.
Adults of these fish are between 80 to 115 mm SL. The light-colored body is somewhat stocky and elongate. There are dark, rounded, and vertically elongate blotches on the side. They have a long, cone-shaped snout with a bulbous or blunt tip. There are two dorsal fins, which are both very tall on adult males. The first dorsal fin has an orange band bordered on both sides by black bands. The end of the tail fin is almost straight. The fins have bery bold and dark marks. The large eyes are near the top of the head. The mouth is inferior due to the upper jaw being longer than the lower jaw.
These fish are sexually mature by about two to three years of age. Spawning occurs from mid-April to early May in water 12-14°C. They probably spawn on gravel and small rubble in swift, deep runs. EAch female may produce from 180 to 640 eggs. The eggs are adhesive and found on the bottom.
The Roanoke logperch use their conical snout to flip gravel and feed on exposed invertebrates. This exploits prey sheltered beneath rocks that may be unavailable to other benthic fishes; however, this feeding behavior relies on the availability of loosely embedded substrate. For Virginia, Roanoke Logperch shows that the river or lake is high quality. It is also used as commercial to show how clean the Virginia's waters are.
