This is a Sharpnose darter (Percina oxyrhynchus) caught in the New River over the summer. Often people think of darters as colorful, riffle dwelling, species but as you can see, it's pretty drab. It occupies runs, pools, and sometimes riffles. Runs and pools are hard to sample for benthic dwelling fish, which has resulted in a lack of information about this fish. This also influences management decisions. The Sharpnose darter was almost listed in the 70's because it is rare (or not very detectable) and was originally thought to have a very small distributional range (originally described as a New River endemic). However, with increased effort it was found to occupy many of the Ohio River drainages. It is interesting in that it very well could be rare all over its range, which theoretically means it may occupy a specific resource niche or perhaps there just isn't a great way to study them. Could that specialized "sharp" mouth be an indicator of specialized feeding behavior? Just food for thought.