“Thou hast made... the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and Thou preservest them all.” Nehemiah 9:66Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee. (Nehemiah 9:6).
Darter fish, which are from two to five inches long, are called this because of their swift swimming movements when frightened, which last until the danger has passed. Many live in a number of streams throughout the United States, but they are best known and appear in largest numbers in the Ozark Mountains of the south-central United States. That is because they seem to favor those clean mountain streams and the shallow, but cold, swift water that races over the rocky bottoms.
There are many species of darters, each with its own distinctive coloring. The stippled darter is one of the prettiest. Throughout most of the year it is pretty enough with its olive-brown body with dark stripes on top and transparent blue fins and tail. But in the spawning season of April and May, the male makes an amazing change. Its fins and tail become bright blue with a fringe of deep orange. The body loses its olive color, and the upper half becomes a pretty mottled blue, silver and gray. The underside of the body, from tip of head to tail, turns a brilliant crimson, as bright as any rainbow.
Another good example is the male Missouri saddled darter, which loses its olive-brown coloring and changes to a brilliant green with bright orange bands. These changes take place only in the male fish. When the spawning season is over they gradually go back to their original colors until the next year.
While the darters are putting on this lovely display, other little fish (about minnow size) that share their streams go through similar changes. The hornyhead chub turns deep yellow, the bleeding shiner becomes crimson, and the red-belly dace turns from silver to bright red with two black stripes on it.
In many ways these brightly colored fish look like tropical fish seen in aquariums, but they are not at all related. The tropical fish keep their colors permanently, while these display them only in the spring. The tropicals are rather slow moving and used to comfortably warm water. The northern species are active and hardy, the result of living in swift waters that are often icy cold. The Creator has made each species to fit in perfectly with its surroundings.
What a lovely display this is of the Creator’s purposes in adding beauty and variety to all His creation. Those who teach evolution have difficulty explaining how any fish could make such wonderful changes “by chance” or by practicing over untold years of time. We know each creature was a complete work when the Lord God made it, and when He did so He “saw that it was good.”
ML-07/17/1983