What is "darter"

Snakebird \Snake"bird`\, n. [So named from its snakelike neck.] (Zo["o]l.)

1. Any one of four species of aquatic birds of the genus Anhinga or Plotus. They are allied to the gannets and cormorants, but have very long, slender, flexible necks, and sharp bills.

   Note: The American species ( Anhinga anhinga syn. Plotus anhinga) inhabits the Southern United States and tropical America; -- called also darter, and water turkey. The Asiatic species ( Anhinga melanogaster) is native of Southern Asia and the East Indies. Two other species inhabit Africa and Australia respectively.

2. (Zo["o]l.) The wryneck.

Etheostomoid \E`the*os"to*moid\, a. [NL. etheostoma name of a genus + -oid.] (Zo["o]l.) Pertaining to, or like, the genus Etheostoma. -- n. Any fish of the genus Etheostoma and related genera, allied to the perches; -- also called darter. The etheostomoids are small and often bright-colored fishes inhabiting the fresh waters of North America. About seventy species are known, including the rare snail darter ( Percina tanasi), 3 inches long, found only in the Tennessee River and classified as a threatened species. See Darter.

n. 1 A waterbird with a long neck in the family Anhingidae. 2 Any of various darting freshwater fish of the family Percidae, that are usually small and brightly coloured and are native to North America.

1. n. fish-eating bird of warm inland waters having a long flexible neck and slender sharp-pointed bill [syn: snakebird, anhinga]

2. a person or other animal that moves abruptly and rapidly; "squirrels are darters"

The darters or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae having a single genus Anhinga. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and classified as near-threatened by the IUCN. The term "snakebird" is usually used without any additions to signify whichever of the completely allopatric species occurs in any one region. It refers to their long thin neck, which has a snake-like appearance when they swim with their bodies submerged, or when mated pairs twist it during their bonding displays. "Darter" is used with a geographical term when referring to particular species. It alludes to their manner of procuring food, as they impale fishes with their thin, pointed beak. The American darter (A. anhinga) is more commonly known as the anhinga. It is sometimes called "water turkey" in the southern United States for little clearly apparent reason; though the anhinga is quite unrelated to the wild turkey, they are both large, blackish birds with long tails that are sometimes hunted for food.

Anhinga is derived from the Tupi ajíŋa (also transcribed áyinga or ayingá), which in local mythology refers to a malevolent demonic forest spirit; it is often translated as "devil bird". The name changed to anhingá or anhangá as it was transferred to the Tupi– Portuguese Língua Geral. However, in its first documented use as an English term in 1818, it referred to an Old World darter. Ever since, it has also been used for the modern genus Anhinga as a whole.

The fish popularly known as darters are small, perch-like fish found in freshwater streams in North America. They are members of the family Percidae and include members of the Ammocrypta, Crystallaria, Etheostoma and Percina genera.

Some darters are widespread throughout North America, most notably in the Mississippi Basin, but others are restricted to single streams, leaving them vulnerable to extinction.

Darter may refer to:

Animals

• Darter or snakebird, a bird of the genus Anhinga
• Darter (fish), a group of fish from North America
• Crenuchidae, a family of fish from South America and Panama
• Dragonflies of the genus Sympetrum

Other

• A person who throws or uses darts

• , a submarine commissioned in 1943 and wrecked in 1944

• , a submarine in commission from 1956 to 1989

• AIS Canberra Darters, a defunct Australian netball team