Re: NANFA-- fantail darters

Dave Neely (rheopresbe_at_hotmail.com)
Fri, 21 Jan 2000 20:45:24 CST

>I'm unsure about the existence of Etheostoma flabellare as a species >per
>se... is there a fish called just plain old E. flabellare?

The name [Etheostoma flabellare] is currently applied to all populations of
fantial darter across its range. While subspecific designations are
available for some populations, there's abundant data that suggests that
some of these forms are valid species, and that there's a heck of a lot more
of other forms that aren't currently described as 'subspecies'. Until a
thorough revision of the group is done, it's probably best to just refer ALL
of them to E. flabellare.

Besides, the category "subspecies" is a nonsensical term anyway, and has no
place in a classification of diversity.

cheers,
Dave

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