Scaly sand darter | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Perciformes |
Family: | Percidae |
Genus: | Ammocrypta |
Species: | A. vivax |
Binomial name | |
Ammocrypta vivax (Hay, 1882) |
The scaly sand darter (Ammocrypta vivax) is a species of freshwater fish endemic to the southeastern United States.
The scaly sand darter grows to between 5.4 to 7.3 cm (2.1 to 2.9 in) in length.[1] It has nine to sixteen spots on each side, with irregular dark blotches on the back, with dark bands on the dorsal, caudal and spinal fins.[2] It inhabits sandy beds of slow-moving rivers and creeks, and feeds on midge larvae and entomostracans.
The species is found in the Mississippi River basin from western Kentucky and southeastern Missouri south to southern Mississippi and west to eastern Oklahoma and Texas, and in drainage basins of the Gulf of Mexico from the Pascagoula River in Mississippi to the San Jacinto River in Texas.