Banded Darter

E. zonale can reach a length of 7.8 centimetres (3.1 in) TL though most only reach about 5.3 centimetres (2.1 in).

The banded darter is one of the most common darters in North America, where an estimated 250 species of darters occur. The banded darter has a widespread distribution throughout much of eastern United States, primarily the Mississippi Basin. It ranges from the Verdigris River in Kansas eastward to the Allegheny River in New York and from the Minnesota River in Minnesota southward to the Ouachita River in Arkansas and the Tennessee River in Alabama. The banded darter can also be found in the headwaters of the Savannah River, in drainages of Lake Michigan, in the Duck River, and other streams across eastern United States.

Non-native range. The species has been introduced in a few non-native streams. Its most distinguishable introduction has occurred in the Susquehanna River drainage. Specimens of the banded darter and the native darter, Etheostoma olmstedi (tessellated darter), were collected at Catatonk Creek in New York beginning in the 1960s. Biologists have studied the two darters and their niches in the Susquehanna River drainage. They found the banded darter was outcompeting the tessellated darter for habitat and resources. The buccal cavity length of the tessellated darter has increased since the banded darter was introduced to the watershed, which is expected to result in higher suction feeding performance measured as volumetric flow rate of water through the mouth. …

The diet of the banded darter consists of midge, mayfly larva, black flies and trichopteran larvae. Ten specimens of the banded darter were captured and monitored in a tank. Chironomids (larvae of non-biting flies called midges), ephemeropterans (mayflies), and trichopterans (caddisflies) were supplied for the darters to eat. The study found the banded darter prefers chironomids over the mayflies (ephemeropterans) or caddisflies (trichopterans), and the fish fed more during the day than they did at night.