The Scioto madtom was only two inches long and even when it was discovered, it was hard to find. Milton Trautman, a famous ichthyologist (a scientist who studies fish), first discovered this tiny catfish in the riffles of Big Darby Creek in Ohio “1 mile south of Fox, southeastern Jackson Township, Pickway County, Ohio, November 4, 1943…” . Trautman collected two more in 1943 and 1 additional Scioto madtom in 1945. Despite extended searches it took Trautman another 12 years to find more. In 1957 he collected 14 specimens. That was the last time they were ever found in the Big Darby Creek or anywhere else. Trautman did speculate that more Scioto madtoms may exist, hiding in crayfish burrows or buried in crevices deep in the mud banks. In 1969, William R. Taylor from the National Museum of Natural History first described the Scioto madtom. Unfortunately, its official description and addition to Ohio’s endangered species list in 1974 came too late to save the Scioto madtom. The Scioto madtom was never found in the Scioto River from which it gets its name, though scientists speculate they did live in that river before pollution contaminated the Scioto River. Changes to their habitat from development caused siltation, industrial discharges, sewage, and agricultural runoff. There may have been competition between the Scioto madtom and the Northern madtom. These factors are believed to have caused the extinction of the Scioto madtom and endangerment of many other species. In his 1976 interview Dr. Trautman was asked: “Some people who are not familiar with natural science, or do not care about the natural world, they could counter with the question, “Why should we try to save this one small species of Madtom, what’s the worth of it?” To which Dr. Trautman responded: “Well, that’s ninety-nine percent of the population. Yes, there are several ways, but the most logical one is to admit that this thing has no economic importance. But, that we have as a nation, exploited all of our natural resources, some to a very great degree. We have killed off the passenger pigeon, the Carolina parakeet, and other animals like that. Also the red wolf, and other small animals. The time has come. I believe that this has got to cease, if we want to save our natural environment. And I can think of no better place to start, that on this little catfish.” Although Jurassic Park is fiction, scientists are working on several de-extinction projects. In fact, in 2003 scientists did bring back the extinct Pyrenean ibex, a type of wild goat, for 7 minutes before it died, showing de-extinction is possible. The Scioto madtom might be a candidate. Scientists would potentially use DNA from one of the 18 specimens of Scioto madtom that were collected, maybe one of the ones kept at Ohio State University. Most of the known specimens were collected as recently as 1957, so the DNA should still be in good condition. Many efforts have been made since the extinction of the Scioto madtom to protect the watersheds in Ohio. In addition, the Darby Creek watershed is home to several federally endangered or threatened species, like the clubshell mussel, the northern riffleshell mussel, and snuffbox mussel, along with dozens of species protected by the state of Ohio. In February 2023, the Big and Little Darby Creeks were nominated for Strongest Clean Water Act Protections. In 2019, Governor Mike DeWine's H2Ohio initiative that has restored wetlands and improved water quality in Ohio. These efforts are helping to protect endangered species like the clubshell mussel, the northern riffleshell mussel, the snuffbox mussel, and many other protected species. Would the Scioto madtom be able to survive if it was returned to the riffles of the Big Darby Creek in Ohio?