This species is listed as Vulnerable because its extent of occurrence is less than 20,000 sq km,
area of occupancy probably is less than 2,000 square km, number of locations may not exceed
10 (or area of occupancy may be severely fragmented), and habitat quality is subject to ongoing
degradation. Range includes the Blackwater-Yellow river system (Pensacola Bay drainage),
Florida; Bay Minette Creek (a tributary to the lower end of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta), Alabama;
and lower Pascagoula River system (lower Black Creek and Chickasawhay River), Mississippi
(Ross 2001, Boschung and Mayden 2004, Page and Burr 2011).
Habitat includes detritus- and silt-bottomed pools and quiet backwaters (variable depth and amount of
rooted aquatic vegetation), creeks, small rivers, sloughs, and oxbow lakes (with Bald Cypress and
Black Gum) off the main channel of medium-sized to large streams; the species has been observed
in mid-water of open areas near aquatic vegetation, and, in other sites, in shallow marginal areas
and around submerged dead branches or brush (Bortone 1989, Suttkus and Bailey 1990, Ross 2001,
Boschung and Mayden 2004, Page and Burr 2011).