Emblematic of the debate over endangered species management in the United States, more recent phylogenetic studies indicate that it may actually be an eastern population of the stargazing darter (Percina uranidea).

The species was at the center of a major environmental law controversy that involved a lawsuit seeking to halt the completion of Tellico Dam, which posed a risk of extinction for the snail darter by destroying its only known habitat.

The case was eventually appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld protections for the snail darter under the ESA in its 1978 decision Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill.

The species inhabits large creeks or deeper portions of rivers and reservoirs with gravel and sand shoals substrate.

[13] The snail darter's taxonomic and conservation status was first called into question in 2015, when a population of an identical fish was discovered on the Alabama-Mississippi border, far from the species' range.

[6][14][16] This accusation ignores the fact that the formal species description (Etnier, 1976) was thoroughly peer-reviewed before publication and has withstood decades of scrutiny—even from biologists employed by TVA.

The original range of the snail darter was thought to be strictly in the lower portion of the Little Tennessee River with a few individuals dispersing into the headwaters of Watts Bar Lake below Fort Loudon Dam.

Prior to the completion of the Tellico Dam in 1979, TVA biologists made several efforts to relocate the remaining individuals of the species into other river systems.

Another transplant attempt was made to the Nolichucky River in 1975, but was later stopped by the discovery of another federally protected species, the sharphead darter (Etheostoma acuticeps).

[10] The snail darter actively feeds in spring and winter with a diet consisting of 60% small gastropods (5mm or less in diameter) and other prey such as caddisflies, midges, and blackflies.

Snails are the preferred food source until late spring when they outgrow the gape size of the fish, resulting in a diet change to insect larvae.

The snail darters' dorsal patterns and coloration allow the fish to camouflage with the substrate to avoid detection from predators.

Other influences include agricultural development, environmental contamination and pollution, and channel modification, which affect water clarity, reproduction success, and migration patterns.

Programs are in progress to educate the public and to work with state officials and local citizens to broaden protection efforts.

[5] In 2025, Ghezelayagh et al determined that the snail darter was likely not a distinct species after all, and would have not likely qualified for ESA protections had its taxonomic identity been known earlier.

Near noted "While we're losing the snail darter as a biological conservation icon, our findings demonstrate the capability of genomics, in addition to studying an organism's observable features, to accurately delimit species".

Despite the study's conclusions, the protections afforded by the ESA still allowed the eastern population of stargazing darter to see significant recovery throughout its range.