Tennessee Dace - Systematics and Etymology

Systematics and Etymology

Chrosomus tennesseensis is a member of the same monophyletic group that contains Chrosomus cumberlandensis (mountain blackside dace), Chrosomus oreas (mountain redbelly dace) and Phoxinus saylori (laurel dace). Until recently, the Tennessee dace was thought to be a variant of the mountain redbelly dace. However, morphological characteristics distinguish the two similar species. The Tennessee dace has a break in the dark lateral stripe that runs down the side of the body. Also, the Tennessee dace's eye pupil diameter is larger than the diameter of the dark spots above the lateral stripe, while the spots of oreas are larger than the pupil. The oreas is a more robust minnow with fewer scales in the lateral series. The species name "tennesseensis" means "of Tennessee," which is a reference to the Tennessee River drainage encompassing much of its native range.