more vegetation than the sympatric slough darter (Etheostoma gracile). They can be found in flowing water but prefer still water including backwaters and ponds, including beaver dams. They are normally found in dark acidic waters but can thrive in clearwater if sufficient cover is available. Swamp darters feed on fly larvae, amphipods, and other small crustaceans and insects. Swamp darters tend to be an important element in the diets of young chain pickerel and young largemouth bass, where the species coexist. Spawning is thought to occur in May in New Jersey; elsewhere, breeding individuals have been collected in March, April, and May. Swamp darters are not bashful about spawning. They typically spawn in the same habitats where they are found. The male approaches a female from the rear, mounts her, and beats her with his pelvic fins. The female then leads the male into aquatic plants, where the eggs are deposited singly on leaves. No parental care of the eggs has been observed, and no information regarding the number of males with which females spawn and vice versa. No fighting or display of territoriality is typically observed. For many populations of the swamp darter, maximum longevity is only one year, with very few individuals surviving two years. Conservation The swamp darter has suffered local declines and extinctions due to alteration of its habitats by humans, urbanisation and agricultural works such as canalization, drainage, pollution and siltation have reduced the available habitat. It is localized and uncommon on the margins of its range, for example it is classified as endangered in Missouri. Overall it wide range, large population size, large number of populations and overall stability of numbers has led the IUCN to classify the swamp darter as Least Concern. Taxonomy and etymology The swamp darter was first formally described in 1854 as Boleosoma fusiforme by the French biologist Charles Frédéric Girard (1822-1895) with the type locality given as a tributary of Charles River at Framingham, Massachusetts. It has been placed in the subgenus Hololepsis' or in the larger Boleichthys. There are two recognised subspecies, although many have been proposed in the past: E.f. barretti: from the Pee Dee River in South Carolina and including the southern and western parts of its range E.f. fusiforme'': the northern Atlantic coastal range from the Waccamaw River, North Carolina as far as Maine The specific name means "spindle shaped" or tapering at each end.