About Percina kathae Thompson, 1997
Percina kathae, commonly known as the Mobile logperch, is a type of logperch darter. Logperches can be easily told apart from most other darters by their tiger-like coloration, as well as their distinctive head and snout shapes. Logperches have a pale yellow base color, with narrow dark bars along their sides and back. They reach a maximum total length of about 18 cm (7 in) and a maximum lifespan of about four years.
Mobile logperches are native primarily to the Southeastern United States. They are endemic to all river systems of the Mobile River basin, which spans parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia. They are especially widespread in the upper Cahaba and Coosa River systems. Populations of the Mobile logperch and gulf logperch (Percina suttkusi) co-occur in some locations within the Alabama, Black Warrior, and upper and lower Tombigbee River systems. Studies on this species have been conducted in the Conasauga River (shared by Georgia and Tennessee), Luxapallila Creek in Mississippi, and the Neosho River in Kansas.
In summer, the Mobile logperch is found in shallow water; during all other seasons, it uses deeper water reaches or uses depths at random. Like other logperches, Mobile logperches inhabit clear, gravelly streams and lakes, and most live in shallow, clear waterways. These habitats are associated with Podostemum, also called riverweed. Studies of species in the genus Percina show that longitudinal position is a strong covariate for occupancy, with little evidence that Podostemum cover influences how much the area is used. The highest population densities of Mobile logperch occur over gravel or sand substrates in areas with moderate current, or in lakes over sand and mud substrates.
