A sculpin is a type of fish that belongs to the superfamily Cottoidea in the order Scorpaeniformes. As of 2006, this superfamily contains 7 families, 94 genera, and 387 species.
The Cottidae are a family of fish in the superfamily Cottoidea, the sculpins. It is the largest sculpin family, with about 275 species in 70 genera. They are referred to simply as cottids to avoid confusion with sculpins of other families.
The Abyssocottinae are a subfamily of ray-finned fishes in the family Cottidae, the sculpins. They are known commonly as the deep-water sculpins. The entire family is endemic to Lake Baikal in Siberia.
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.
Cottus is a genus of the mainly freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. They are often referred to as the "freshwater sculpins", as they are the principal genus of sculpins to be found in fresh water. They are native to the Palearctic and Nearctic.
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.
The Shoshone sculpin is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is It is endemic to the United States. It inhabits spring systems in the Thousand Springs formation near Hagerman, south-central Idaho. It reaches a maximum length of 9.0 cm. The specific name honors Charles Wilson Greene who was an instructor in physiology at Stanford University and was on the expedition on which the type was collected from the Thousand Springs on the Snake River, near mouth of Salmon Falls River in Gooding County, Idaho.
The Wood River sculpin is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is endemic to the Big Wood and Little Wood rivers and their tributaries upstream of Magic Reservoir in Blaine County, Idaho in the United States. Its habitat is similar to other sculpins: small to medium-sized streams that are cool and have swift currents. It is a species of concern because of its restricted distribution.
The banded sculpin is a freshwater fish dwelling mostly in small to moderate sized streams in areas of swift current. Young and juvenile C. carolinae can mainly be found in pools, riffles, and other shallow habitats while adults tend to prefer deeper waters. C. carolinae primarily eats insects and insect larvae, but their large mouths enable them to eat prey nearly as large as themselves, including other sculpin. To prevent predation, including by other fish, the color and pattern of the sculpin tends to match its environment. Most Cottus carolinae are mottled brown with dark vertical banding and usually reach about three inches in length. They have a broad head which rather quickly narrows into a slim body, giving them the appearance of a tadpole reaching adulthood.
Cottus aturi, the Adour sculpin or Chabot du Béarn, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is found in France and Spain. It inhabits the Adour and Nivelle river drainages. It reaches a maximum length of 10 cm (3.9 in). It prefers streams with clear, cool, moderate to swift water and stone substrate. This species was described as a separate species from the European bullhead in 2005 by Jörg Freyhof, Maurice Kottelat and Arne W. Nolte.
The shorthead sculpin is a species of fish in the family Cottidae. It is found in the United States and Canada, inhabiting the Columbia River drainage in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia. It is also found in the Puget Sound drainage in Washington. It reaches a maximum length of 15.0 cm. It prefers rocky riffles of headwaters and creeks.
Cottus duranii, the Dordogne sculpin or Chabot d’Auvergne, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is found in France. It inhabits the Loire and Dordogne river drainages. It reaches a maximum length of 10.0 cm. It prefers streams with clear, cool, moderate to swift water and stone substrate. This species was described as a separate species from the European bullhead in 2005 by Jörg Freyhof, Maurice Kottelat and Arne W. Nolte. The specific name durani means “of Duranius”, the Latin name of the River Dordogne.
Cottus rhenanus is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is found in France, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. It inhabits the Rhine and Meuse river drainages. It reaches a maximum length of 10.0 cm. It prefers streams with clear, cool, moderate to swift water and stone substrate. This species was described as a separate species from the European bullhead in 2005 by Jörg Freyhof, Maurice Kottelat and Arne W. Nolte. The specific name rhenatus means belonging to Rhenus, the Latin name of the River Rhine.
The Columbia sculpin is a species of fish in the family Cottidae. It is found in the United States and Canada, inhabiting the Columbia River drainage and Harney Basin in Oregon, British Columbia, Idaho, Washington, and Nevada. It reaches a maximum length of 11.2 cm. It prefers rocky riffles of headwaters and creeks.
The fourspine sculpin is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is endemic to Japan. It reaches a maximum length of 30.0 cm (11.8 in).
Cottus perifretum, the bullhead or miller’s thumb, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is found on both sides of the English Channel, native to Great Britain. It also inhabits Atlantic drainages from the Garonne River to the Scheldt in France and Belgium, and the Moselle and Sieg in Germany. It is considered invasive in the Rhine drainage in Germany and the Netherlands. This invasive population in the Rhine is an intermediate between this species and Cottus rhenanus. Although this species is native to England and Wales it is considered to be a non-native invasive species in Scotland.
The torrent sculpin is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is found in the United States and Canada, inhabiting upper Fraser River drainage in British Columbia to the Nehalem River in Oregon (including the Columbia River drainage of British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon. It reaches a maximum length of 15.5 cm. It prefers swift waters of small to large rivers with stable gravel or rubble bottoms, and rocky lake shores.
The grotto sculpin is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is found in the United States where it only inhabits the Bois Brule drainage in Perry County of southeastern Missouri. It reaches a maximum standard length of 10.3 cm (4.1 in). This cavefish lives in underground streams and their resurgences. It was formerly confused with the more widespread C. carolinae, but can be separated by its smaller eyes and various degrees of reduced pigmentation. It is one of only three known cases of troglomorphism in the sculpin family, the others also involving U.S. Cottus.
Cottus cyclophthalmus is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This species is found in northeastern Europe, in the Neman River and Venta River drainages in the basin of the Baltic Sea. This species is similar to the European bullhead but is distinguished by uts round, protruding and tubular eyes set close to the front of head; papillae in the skin on the top and sides of the head, a scale-less body without any bony prickles and a complete sensory canal on the flanks which has 32–36 pores. It is classified within the subgenus Cottus and the specific name cyclophthalmus is a compound of cyclos, meaning "round", and ophthalmus, which mean "eye", an allusion to the round, tubular eyes.
The coastal riffle sculpin is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is endemic to the Coast Range Mountains of California, where it is found in streams draining to the west and southwest. This taxon was considered to be conspecific with the inland riffle sculpin until resaerch published in 2020 by Peter B. Moyle and Matthew A. Campbell showed that it was a separate valid species which was split into two subspecies. One, C.o. pomo, found in the northern Russian River and north San Francisco Bay drainage; and the other, C.o. ohlone, in the southern Santa Clara Valley. The specific name honors the Ohlone people, a Native American group which lived around southern San Francisco Nay and the Santa Clara Valley.
