Alpine bullhead

Last updated

Alpine bullhead
Cottus poecilopus Slovakia.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Cottidae
Genus: Cottus
Species:
C. poecilopus
Binomial name
Cottus poecilopus
Heckel, 1837
Synonyms
  • Cottus poecilopus poecilopus Heckel, 1837
  • Cottus poecilopus macrostomus Jeitteles, 1862
  • Cottus poecilopus microstomus Jeitteles, 1862

The alpine bullhead [2] or Siberian bullhead (Cottus poecilopus) is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cottidae of sculpins. It is found in China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, North Korea, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, and Ukraine. This fish is listed as being of "Least Concern" by the IUCN. [1]

Contents

Description

The alpine bullhead has a large broad head and tapering body, large fins and a rounded tail. It is light brown mottled with darker colour. The eyes are located near the top of the head. This fish resembles the European bullhead and can occur in same streams with it. It can be told from the European bullhead by the fact that the innermost ray of its pelvic fins is shorter than the outermost ray rather than being of similar length. The pelvic fins are spotted with darker colour and appear banded when bunched unlike the European bullhead's clear fins. When the fish rests on the bottom, the pectoral fins flare out resembling wings. The alpine bullhead is usually about 5 to 8 cm (2.0 to 3.1 in) long with a maximum of 12 cm (5 in). [3]

Distribution and habitat

The alpine bullhead is found in northern and central Europe in upland and coldwater streams and lakes in mountain regions. [1]

Biology

The alpine bullhead feeds on insects, crustaceans and small invertebrate prey that it finds on the bed of the stream. It is generally nocturnal but becomes diurnal in the Arctic during the winter. In spring, when the water temperature rises to 5 °C (41 °F), a male will prepare a nest site under a large stone and several females will lay their eggs in it. The male then guards the nest for the month or so until the eggs hatch. [1] [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown bullhead</span> North American catfish species

The brown bullhead is a fish of the family Ictaluridae that is widely distributed in North America. It is a species of bullhead catfish and is similar to the black bullhead and yellow bullhead. It was originally described as Pimelodus nebulosus by Charles Alexandre Lesueur in 1819, and is also referred to as Ictalurus nebulosus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spoonhead sculpin</span> Species of fish

The spoonhead sculpin is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This species is widespread in northeastern North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slimy sculpin</span> Species of fish

The slimy sculpin is a freshwater species of fish belonging to the family Cottidae, which is the largest sculpin family. They usually inhabit cold rocky streams or lakes across North America, ranging from the Great Lakes, southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa, southwest Wisconsin and northeast Canada. Slimy sculpins have also been found roaming the cold streams of eastern Siberia. They are commonly confused with their closely related relatives, Mottled sculpin, and with tubenose gobies who are both freshwater fishes as well. The slimy sculpin is a nocturnal fish that usually spends most of its time on the stream bottom and seeks shelter under rocks and logs, especially during spawning season. When it swims, it sometimes appears to be "hopping" along the bottom because of its inefficient ability to swim. This is partly due to the absence of a swim bladder, which normally gives buoyancy to a fish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common ling</span> Species of fish

The common ling, also known as the white ling or simply the ling, is a large member of the family Lotidae, a group of cod-like fishes. It resembles the related rocklings, but it is much larger and has a single barbel. This species is unrelated to the pink ling, Genypterus blacodes, from the Southern Hemisphere. The common ling is found in the northern Atlantic, mainly off Europe, and into the Mediterranean Basin. It is an important quarry species for fisheries, especially in the northeastern Atlantic, although some doubts exist as to the sustainability of the fisheries. As an edible species, it is eaten fresh, frozen, or dried, but also preserved in lye, while the roe is a delicacy in Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mottled sculpin</span> Species of fish

The mottled sculpin is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This species has a wide but scattered North American distribution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European bullhead</span> Species of fish

The European bullhead is a freshwater fish that is widely distributed in Europe, mainly in rivers. It is a member of the family Cottidae, a type of sculpin. It is also known as the miller's thumb, freshwater sculpin, common bullhead, and cob.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sand goby</span> Species of fish

The sand goby, also known as a polewig or pollybait, is a species of ray-finned fish native to marine and brackish European waters from the Baltic Sea through the Mediterranean Sea and into the Black Sea where it occurs in sandy or muddy areas of inshore waters at depths of from 4 to 200 metres. This species can reach a length of 11 centimetres (4.3 in) TL. This species is sometimes kept in public aquariums. The sand goby is of a sandy colour, with darker markings on the sides and a creamy-white underside. In the breeding season the male fish has blue spot at the rear of the first dorsal fin, ringed with white. The fish has a slender body, and the head is about a quarter of the total length.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crested bullhead shark</span> Species of shark

The crested bullhead shark is an uncommon species of bullhead shark, in the family Heterodontidae. It lives off the coast of eastern Australia from the coast to a depth of 93 m (305 ft). This shark can be distinguished from other members of its family by the large size of the ridges above its eyes and by its color pattern of large dark blotches. It typically attains a length of 1.2 m (3.9 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japanese bullhead shark</span> Species of shark

The Japanese bullhead shark is a species of bullhead shark in the family Heterodontidae found in the northwestern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Japan, Korea, and China. This benthic shark occurs at depths of 6–37 m (20–121 ft) over rocky bottoms or kelp beds. Measuring up to 1.2 m (3.9 ft) long, it can be identified by its short, blunt head, two high dorsal fins with anterior spines, and pattern of irregularly shaped, vertical brown bands and stripes. The Japanese bullhead shark is a docile, slow-swimming species that feeds mainly on shelled invertebrates and small bony fishes. Reproduction is oviparous, with females laying spiral-flanged eggs in communal "nests". This species is of little interest to fisheries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey triggerfish</span> Species of fish

The grey triggerfish, or gray triggerfish, is a species of ray-finned fish in the triggerfish family. The species is native to shallow parts of the western Atlantic from Nova Scotia to Argentina and also the eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea and off Angola on the west coast of Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black goby</span> Species of fish

The black goby is a species of ray-finned fish found in the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea. It inhabits estuaries, lagoons, and inshore water over seagrass and algae. It feeds on a variety of invertebrates and sometimes small fish. This species can also be found in the aquarium trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fourhorn sculpin</span> Species of fish

The fourhorn sculpin is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This species has a Holarctic distribution and can be found in marine, brackish and fresh waters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norway bullhead</span> Species of fish

The Norway bullhead is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This species is found in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common goby</span> Species of fish

The common goby is a species of ray-finned fish native to fresh and brackish waters along the Atlantic and Baltic Sea coasts of Europe and northern Africa, with a range stretching from Norway to Morocco and Mauritania. It is also found in the Canary Islands. This species reaches a maximum length of 9 centimetres (3.5 in) TL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bullhead minnow</span> Species of fish

The bullhead minnow is a species of freshwater demersal fish, native to the Mississippi River system in the United States, to tributaries of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan and to northern Mexico.

<i>Stegastes leucostictus</i> Species of fish

Stegastes leucostictus is a species of damselfish found near the sea bed in shallow waters on the western fringes of the Atlantic Ocean. It is commonly known as the beau gregory or beaugregory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coastrange sculpin</span> Species of fish

The Coastrange sculpin is a freshwater sculpin of the genus Cottus. They are commonly found near the ocean in western North America, namely Canada and the United States. It is also known as the Aleutian sculpin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prickly sculpin</span> Species of fish

The prickly sculpin is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is native to the river drainages of the Pacific Slope of North America from Seward, Alaska south to the Ventura River of Southern California. It extends east of the Continental Divide in the Peace River of British Columbia. It has also been introduced to several reservoirs in Southern California.

The shorthead sculpin is a species of fish in the family Cottidae. Shorthead Sculpins are bottom-dwelling small fish, typically sizing around 13 to 15 cm long. They have large heads and fanlike pectoral fins. They have 7-9 dorsal spines, 15-19 dorsal soft rays, and 10-14 anal soft rays. Narrow caudal peduncle. Palatine teeth and coloration being dark brown and yellow.

Cottus volki is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This species is endemic to Russia where it is found along the continental coasts of the Sea of Japan but not on the coasts of Peter the Great Bay. It reaches a maximum length of 13 cm (5.1 in). It was previously considered a subspecies of the alpine bullhead. and this species was first formally described in 1933 by the Russian ichthyologist Anatoly Yakovlevich Taranetz as Cottus poecilopus volki with its type locality given as the Suchan River to Takema River on western coast of the Sea of Japan in Primorye. Taranetz did not identify the person honoured in the specific name but it is thought most likely to be his friend Alexander Maksimovich Volk, like Taranetz, Volk was killed in action during World War 2.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Freyhof, J.; Kottelat, M. (2008). "Cottus poecilopus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2008: e.T5446A11135868. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T5446A11135868.en . Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2006). "Cottus poecilopus" in FishBase . April 2006 version.
  3. 1 2 "Alpine bullhead: Cottus poecilopus". NatureGate. Retrieved 2013-12-17.