Clinocottus acuticeps

Last updated

Clinocottus acuticeps
Clinocottus acuticeps.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Cottidae
Genus: Clinocottus
Species:
C. acuticeps
Binomial name
Clinocottus acuticeps
(Gilbert, 1896)
Synonyms [2]
  • Oligocottus acuticeps Gilbert, 1896
  • Blennicottus acuticeps (Gilbert, 1896)
  • Oxycottus acuticeps (Gilbert, 1896)

Clinocottus acuticeps, the sharpnose sculpin, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This sculpin is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Contents

Taxonomy

Clinocottus acuticeps was first formally described as Oligocottus acuticeps in 1896 by the American ichthyologist Charles Henry Gilbert with its type locality given as Unalaska harbor, Unalaska in the Aleutian Islands. [3] The genus Clinocottus has been resolved as paraphyletic or polyphyletic by some workers and that this species is apparently not closely related to the other species included in the genus. [4] This species is the only species subgenus Oxycottus which was proposed as a genus by David Starr Jordan and Evermann in 1898. [5] The specific name, acuticeps, means "pointed head", alluding to the sharply pointed snout. [6]

Description

Clinocottus acuticeps is identified by its flattened, three branched papilla near the anus and the possession of cirri on the eyeballs, head, the lateral line and at the tip of each spine in the dorsal fin. The lateral line is high near the head, curves down along the middle of the flanks and straightens as it nears the caudal peduncle. Each of the first 15 pores has a slender cirrus. The penultimate ray in the anal fin is the longest. The pectoral fins extend as far as or just beyond the origin of the anal fin. The caudal fin is rounded. The dorsal fins are supported by between 7 and 9 spines and 14 and 16 soft rays while the anal fin has 13 to 16 soft rays. They reach a maximum published total length of 6.4 cm (2.5 in). They vary on color, depending upon their habitat, sometimes the color is an almost uniform bright green, however, the typical color is green to light brown on the upper body marked with dark wedge-shaped saddles, the widest part being the lowest. They sometimes have a dark horizontal stripe along the lateral line which may be broken by pale spots. The underside is creamy to white. there are three dark radiating lines running from the eye, the first runs to the snout, the next down to the rear of the mouth and the third backwards to the base of the spine on the preoperculum. There is a dark blotch on the spiny dorsal fin between the first and the third spine. All the other fins, other than the plain pelvic fins, are typically dusky with indistinct mottling or barring. [2]

Distribution and habitat

Clinocottus acuticeps is found in the Eastern Pacific Ocean along the North American Pacific coast from the Bering Sea to the Big Sur River in central California. It s found at depths of between where it is common in rocky intertidal and subtidal areas, as well as on sand and among Zostera and macroalgae. They may desert tidal pools if the condition of the water becomes unsuitable and this species sometimes enters fresh water. [2] This species shows a preference for substrates of sand, gravel and rock with mussels of the genus Mytilus . [1]

Biology

Clinocottus acuticeps is a facultative air breather and can survive out of water. It feeds on small benthic invertebrates found in tide pools and in algae. [2] Spawning takes place in the spring and summer. [1] This species has been recorded as a host for the copepod ectoparasite Haemobaphes intermedius . [7]

Related Research Articles

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

The snubnose sculpin is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This fish is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

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

The Pacific staghorn sculpin is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This species is found eastern Pacific Ocean. It is the only species in the monospecific genus Lepidocottus.

<i>Clinocottus globiceps</i> Species of fish

Clinocottus globiceps, the mosshead sculpin or globe-headed sculpin, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This sculpin is found in the northeastern Pacific.

<i>Clinocottus</i> Genus of fishes

Clinocottus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. They are nearshore benthic fishes native to the northeastern Pacific Ocean. They are mentioned as sharpnose sculpins.

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

The Roughback sculpin is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This species is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The roughback sculpin is the only known member of the genus Chitonotus.

The lavender sculpin is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Phasmatocottus is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the "typical" sculpins. The only species in the genus is Phasmatocottus ctenopterygius from the northwestern Pacific.

The hairhead sculpin is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is the only species in the monospecific genus Trichocottus.

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

The spinyhead sculpin is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Psychrolutidae, the fatheads. This species is found in the northern Pacific Ocean. This species is the only species in the monospecific genus Dasycottus.

<i>Enophrys bison</i> Species of fish

Enophrys bison, the buffalo sculpin, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

<i>Myoxocephalus scorpioides</i> Species of fish

Myoxocephalus scorpioides, the Arctic sculpin or northern sculpin, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This fish is found in the Arctic Ocean.

<i>Artedius corallinus</i> Species of fish

Artedius corallinus, the coralline sculpin, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is found in the eastern North Pacific along the coasts of the western United States and Baja California.

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

The woolly sculpin is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean, where it occurs along the coastline of California and Baja California.

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

The rosy sculpin is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It inhabits the coastal northeastern Pacific Ocean, ranging from California (US) to Baja California.

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

The bald sculpin is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

<i>Icelinus borealis</i> Species of fish

Icelinus borealis, or the northern sculpin or comb sculpin, is a species of fish in the family Cottidae. It can be found in the northeastern Pacific Ocean along the western coastt of North America.

<i>Enophrys diceraus</i>

Enophrys diceraus, the antlered sculpin, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This species occurs in the northern Pacific Ocean.

<i>Gymnocanthus pistilliger</i>

Gymnocanthus pistilliger, the threaded sculpin, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This species occurs in the northern Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arctic staghorn sculpin</span>

The Arctic staghorn sculpin is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This sculpin is found in the Arctic Ocean and the northern Atlantic Ocean.

<i>Clinocottus embryum</i>

Clinocottus embryum, the calico sculpin or mossy sculpin, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Clinocottus acuticeps Sharpnose Sculpin". NatureServe. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2022). "Clinocottis acuticeps" in FishBase. August 2022 version.
  3. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Clinocottus". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  4. Matthew L. Knope (2013). "Phylogenetics of the marine sculpins (Teleostei: Cottidae) of the North American Pacific Coast". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 66: 341–349. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2012.10.008.
  5. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Oligocottinae". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  6. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (22 October 2022). "Order Perciformes: Suborder Cottoidea: Infraorder Cottales: Family Cottidae (Sculpins)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  7. Nicolas Bailly (2008). "Clinocottus acuticeps (Gilbert, 1896)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 29 January 2023.