The River Darter inhabits shallow, rocky areas with moderate current in large rivers. They spawn in April at a water depth of two feet or less on rock in currents near shore. The darter feeds on insects.
The River Darter is known in Kansas from the Neosho River in Labette and the Spring River in Cherokee County. This fish barely enters Kansas. The only records are from the broad, shallow channels from the Neosho and Spring Rivers below the low dams at Chetopa and Baxter Springs.