It was formerly considered a subspecies of the johnny darter, which it greatly resembles in general appearance.

In breeding males, the spines have fleshy knobs although they are not as well developed as in the fantail darter.

Some scales of the upper sides have dark margins forming wavy bars of varying lengths and different angles.

Juveniles and breeding adults develop 12 or 13 rather even vertical bands along their sides while losing the wavy lines and X-shaped markings as the scales of the upper sides become quite dark with pale tips on the pectoral and pelvic fins.

[5] The specific name honors the collector of the type, Charles H. Olmsted who was president of the Hartford Natural History Society.