Etheostoma cumberlandicum Jordan and Swain 1883

Etheostoma cumberlandicum Jordan and Swain, 1883: 251

Moonbow Darter

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Figure 5A, B; Tables 5–11

Etheostoma cumberlandicum: Jordan and Swain, 1883: 251 (meristic data and species description); Page and Smith, 1976: 533 (listed as synonym of Etheostoma kennicotti); Page, 1983: 149 (referenced as a synonym of Etheostoma kennicotti); Beckham, 1983: 27 (referenced as a synonym of Etheostoma kennicotti); Braasch and Mayden, 1985: 53 (referenced as a synonym of Etheostoma kennicotti).

Etheostoma flabellare cumberlandicum: Jordan and Evermann 1898: 1098 (morphology, geographic distribution, and listed as a subspecies of Etheostoma flabellare); Ross and Carico, 1963: 12 (listed as a subspecies of Etheostoma flabellare); Collette and Knapp, 1966: 25 (listed as a subspecies of Etheostoma flabellare).

Catonotus kennicotti cumberlandicus: Shoup and Peyton, 1940: 111 (distribution in Jellico Creek system and listed as a subspecies of Etheostoma kennicotti).

Etheostoma kennicotti cumberlandicum: Page and Smith, 1976: 532 (listed as a subspecies, but it was placed into the synonymy of Etheostoma kennicotti); Smith, 1979: 288 (referenced as a synonym of Etheostoma kennicotti); Braasch and Mayden, 1985: 53 (referenced as a synonym of Etheostoma kennicotti); Burr and Warren, 1986: 304 (referenced as a synonym of Etheostoma kennicotti); Etnier and Starnes, 1993: 500 (referenced as a synonym of Etheostoma kennicotti).

Etheostoma kennicotti: Carter and Jones, 1969: 13, 67 (presence in Poor Fork of the upper Cumberland River system); Comiskey and Etnier, 1972: 143 (distribution in Big South Fork system); Page and Smith, 1976: tables 3–6, fig. 2 (meristic trait variation and pigmentation); Starnes and Starnes, 1978: 515 (syntopic with Chrosomus cumberlandensis [Starnes and Starnes] in the upper Cumberland River system); Wolfe et al., 1979 (allozyme variation); Wolfe and Branson, 1979 (LDH isozyme variation); Burr, 1980: 76 (distribution in upper Cumberland River system); Page, 1983: 149, map 80 (geographic distribution and morphological variation); Page and Schemske, 1978 (geographic distribution and body size); O’Bara and Estes, 1984: 10–12 (presence in the Clear Fork system in upper Cumberland River system); Burr and Warren, 1986: 304 (geographic distribution and habitat notes); Etnier and Starnes, 1993: 499–500, range map 227, plate 235b (photograph of nuptial condition male, geographic distribution, diet, and life history notes); Song et al., 1998: tables 1, 2, figs. 1, 3–5 (phylogenetic relationships); Strange, 1998: 101 (distribution in upper Cumberland River system); Porterfield et al., 1999: figs. 2–6 (phylogenetic relationships); Near et al., 2011: table 1, figs. 3, 4 (classification and phylogenetic relationships).

Lectotype.— Designated by Collette and Knapp (1966: 25). USNM 36502, 41 mm standard length (SL), Wolf Creek a tributary of Clear Fork, near Pleasant View, Whitley Co., Kentucky, D. S. Jordan, J. Swain, and C. H. Gilbert, May 1883.

Paralectotypes.— Designated by Collette and Knapp (1966: 25). USNM 197992, 4 specimens, 20–42 mm SL, same collection information as lectotype.

Material examined.— A total of 263 specimens, 25–62 mm SL (see Material Examined).

Diagnosis.— Etheostoma cumberlandicum is distinguished from all other species referred to as E. kennicotti by a modal count of 13 versus 12 rays in the pectoral fin and modally seven caudal bands versus modally nine or ten caudal bands (Tables 10, 11), 88.3% of specimens of E. cumberlandicum have eight or fewer caudal bands and 82.7% specimens of E. kennicotti (s.l.) have nine or more caudal bands.

Distribution.— Etheostoma cumberlandicum is distributed in the Roaring Paunch Creek system, a tributary of the Big South Fork and in the Cumberland River system above Cumberland Falls. Collections of E. cumberlandicum closest to Cumberland Falls include Eagle Creek, McCreary Co., Kentucky (UT 91.3177) and Bunches Creek, Whitely Co., Kentucky (UT 91.3122). In addition to the main stem of the Cumberland River, major tributary systems above the Cumberland Falls occupied by E. cumberlandicum include Marsh Creek, Jellico Creek, Clear Fork, Greasy Creek, Clear Creek, Yellow Creek, Brownies Creek, and Poor Fork of the Cumberland River (Fig. 1). Collections of E. cumberlandicum include locations in Bell, Harlan, Letcher, McCreary, and Whitely Counties, Kentucky and Campbell, Claiborne, and Scott Counties, Tennessee (Fig. 1).

Etymology.— While not stated directly, it is clear the specific epithet Etheostoma cumberlandicum is in reference to the location of the species in the Cumberland River system (Jordan and Swain, 1883). The common name Moonbow Darter is in reference to the rare ‘‘moonbow’’ associated with Cumberland Falls. On bright moonlit nights, mist rising from the water plunging over the waterfall refracts the moonlight producing an effect similar to a rainbow, but with less vivid colors.