The shield darter is a small freshwater fish from the perch family. It lives in clean streams and rivers with fast currents in eastern North America.
The shield darter differs from related species by a special row of enlarged scales along the lateral line. It is important for nature because it controls the population of invertebrates and serves as food for larger fish.
Immature form that undergoes metamorphosis before adulthood.
Worker
birth time
bottom
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
shallow coastal zones of rivers and lakes
g
summer mild, +15…+20 °C
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
days
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
adult
Maturity
invertebrates
About health
Searches for food on or among rocks and stony surfaces.
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
freshwater
Colors
Cool summer
Caudal fin color
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
all seas and oceans
Trophic type
all living animals without backbone
Filters
running
Upcoming birthdays
standing fresh waters — lakes, ponds, oxbow lakes
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
Age (juvenile)
insect larvae and caterpillars
Age (from birth to death)
rock
Foraging occurs on the floor of aquatic or terrestrial habitats.
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
aquatic worms
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Caudal fin size
Lifespan average
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
swampy freshwater biotopes — peat bogs, marshes, river mangroves
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
Freshwater
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
Pets
all rivers and lakes
Primary oral structure used to seize, manipulate, or ingest food.
Nearctic realm
{name} jubilee
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
mouth
turns
Rascals
Flooded grasslands
Dorsal fin count
Litter size
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Where are they found?
Species lacks any fixed or lasting shelter structure.
Dorsal fin size
all rivers and lakes
Locomotion through water employed while searching for or capturing prey.
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
lakes and ponds
freshwater marsh and wetlands
Taxons
carnivore
rivers and streams
if born as {name}
age
birth date
swimming
no permanent shelter
freshwater coastal and creek
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
Potential Habitat
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Feeding occurs in water bodies such as rivers, lakes, or oceans.
lots of rain, summer not hot
Mass
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
Gestation
Body size
aquatic
{name} birthday
Nearctic realm
No results found
North America and Greenland, from tundra to forests
On the map
lunge
small crustaceans
all life stages
Female ♀
Body color
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
Maturity
sq mm
yr
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Neither
What do they eat?
insect larvae
Where do they live?
Marine world
from birth to death
early young
water often floods the land, lots of grass
Freshwater
Temperate mixed forest
snout
Duration
This is me
freshwater
Gamers
How are they built?
Cool summer and lots of rain
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
Dorsal fin color
Asexual
swap
freshwater environment — rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps
active predation
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
flowing fresh waters — rivers, streams, mountain torrents
Daddies
small crabs, amphipods and other crustaceans
Lifespan maximum
foraging
whole life
Hermaphrodite ⚥
Grape
8 to 11 grams, 1.5 – 8 centimeters
North America and Greenland, from tundra to forests
worms living in water or in bottom silt
embryo
summer warm, many oaks, birches, maples
Length
kg
Rapid forward strike to seize prey.
Observations
◉{N} more on tap