#25DaysOfFishmas Darter edition day 3: Some of you may recognize this little troublemaker: the snail darter (Percina tanasi)! Some of you may remember when this tiny percid created a massive controversy over a dam project.

In Tennessee, major conflict had been brewing for years over the Tellico Dam project that would affect the Tennessee River and the many local farmer families in the area.

When ichthyologists discovered the snail darter, they also discovered a disturbing fact: the little fish's only known habitat was about to be destroyed by the dam!!

A long, contentious legal battle ensued in which the darter's defenders demanded that the Endangered Species Act be upheld and the dam project halted. Their fight made it all the way to the Supreme Court in 1978.

In the end the snail darter was granted a reprieve from the destruction of its home. Since then conservationists and citizens have successfully expanded the snail darter's range, and the little fish is doing just fine.

If you want to know more, I recommend you read The Snail Darter and the Dam by Zygmunt J.B. Plater.