page_title: Christmas darter
section_title: Distribution and habitat
hierarchical_section_title: Christmas darter / Distribution and habitat
caption_attribution_description: English: Altamaha at Buggs Bluff looking SE. Rayonier and US301 bridge in background.
context_page_description: The Christmas darter is a species of freshwater fish found in the Savannah, Ogeechee and Altamaha catchment areas in South Carolina and Georgia. It is a small but colorful fish, typically less than 5 cm in total length, with blackish, red and green streaks on its flanks. Green and red are associated with Christmas, hence the common name Christmas darter. Like other darters, it lives on or close to the stream-bed, in riffles and vegetation-laden stretches of small rivers, creeks and spring-fed streams. It feeds on aquatic insects and probably breeds in the spring, but its biology and behavior are poorly known.
  The Christmas darter is closely related to the Savannah darter and the Christmas Eve or Hannukah darter, the latter of which is sometimes considered a subspecies of the Christmas darter rather than a species in its own right. The Christmas darter may hybridize with other darter species, though hybridization is hampered by behavioral and biological barriers. The Christmas darter is a common species in suitable habitat and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed it as being of least concern for conservation purposes.
context_section_description: The Christmas darter is endemic to the states of Georgia and South Carolina in the southeastern United States. The nominate population is restricted to the Altamaha and Ogeechee River drainage basins in Georgia, both above and below the fall line, while the Christmas Eve darter occurs in the Savannah River catchment area, on the border between Georgia and South Carolina. Typical habitats include medium-sized and small rivers and creeks, riffles with rubble and coarse substrates, headwater creeks, and spring-fed streams with plentiful vegetation and sandy bottoms.
caption: The Altamaha River in Georgia
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