The Collaborative International Dictionary
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.
WordNet
n. 3-inch snail-eating perch of the Tennessee River [syn: Percina tanasi]
Wikipedia
The snail darter (Percina tanasi) is a species of fish that is found in East Tennessee freshwater in the United States. It is in the perch family (family Percidae) of the order Perciformes. Discovered in 1973, the snail darter was listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973 by 1975 and was involved in a legal controversy leading to a Supreme Court ruling to halt the completion of Tellico Dam, which posed a risk of extinction for the snail darter by blocking its migratory route — see Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill, snail darter controversy.
In 1978, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency launched a recovery plan to preserve the snail darter by transferring the species to other river systems. Its native range was originally in the lower parts of the Little Tennessee River, the Sequatchie River, and in Chickamauga Creek, but was later eliminated from the Little Tennessee River by the completion of Tellico Dam. The species was then transplanted into the Hiwassee River in southeastern Tennessee. The species inhabits large creeks or deeper portions of rivers and reservoirs with gravel and sand shoals substrate. The snail darter spawns between February to mid-April with the female producing 600 eggs which drift downstream. Juveniles occupy slack water habitats and migrate upstream to the breeding ground. The lifespan of the snail darter ranges between 2 and 4 years. The snail darter adult length ranges between . The species’ diet consists mostly of snails and insects (caddisflies, midges, and blackflies). Snail darters have camouflage dorsal patterns and burrow in the substrate to conserve energy and hide from predators. They are largely preyed upon by banded sculpin (Cottuss carolinae). The word Tanasi derives from capital of the Cherokee Nation located on the Little Tennessee River where the species was discovered. The species was relisted as threatened in 1984 after being successfully transplanted into other river systems.
Usage examples of "snail darter".
We oppress the gays, blacks, Latinos, Asians, Indians, plants, bugs, minerals, the ozone, the snail darter, the wetlands, and the moon.
Someday we'll send down enough power from space that we can tear down the dams and put the snail darter back where he caine from.
Someday we'll send down enough power from space that we can tear down the dams and put the snail darter back where he came from.
He said that he had thought of it but decided that the spider had its rights, and had played its part in a charade reasonably well and at the right time, and anyway it was part of the scheme of things, just like the snail darter, the snow goose, and the ACLU.
Someday well send down enough power from space that we can tear down the dams and put the snail darter back where he caine from.