Grunt sculpin

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Grunt sculpin
Grunt sculpin or grunt-fish, Rhamphocottus richardsonii.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Superfamily: Cottoidea
Family: Rhamphocottidae
Genus: Rhamphocottus
Species:
R. richardsonii
Binomial name
Rhamphocottus richardsonii
Günther, 1874

The grunt sculpin or grunt-fish (Rhamphocottus richardsonii) is a small fish mainly found in the eastern Pacific Ocean. [2] The grunt sculpin generally remains close to shore and is often found in empty giant barnacle shells. The common name comes from reports that the fish vibrate or "grunt" when held. [3] Its defining feature is its tendency to “hop” along the ocean floor on its orange fins. [3] [4] The short, stout body of the grunt sculpin has a long, small mouth which is adapted for eating smaller prey. [3] [5]

Contents

Grunt Sculpin, photograph courtesy United States Fish and Wildlife Service Grunt Sculpin.jpg
Grunt Sculpin, photograph courtesy United States Fish and Wildlife Service

Taxonomy

It is a member of the class Actinopterygii, the ray-finned fishes. It is further classified into the order Scorpaeniformes, commonly known as the mail-cheeked fishes. The superfamily Cottoidea which is classified within this order includes R. richardsonii and all other sculpins. However, the grunt sculpin was regarded as the only member of the family Rhamphocottidae until the Ereuniidae was synonymized with Rhamphocottidae. [6] The records from the western North Pacific are now thought to probably refer to Rhamphocottus nagaaki which was described as a new species in 2022. [7]

Its genus name comes from rhampos meaning snout and kottus meaning sculpin based on its physical characteristics. Its species name honors the Scottish naturalist John Richardson. [2] It was first formally described by the German born British ichthyologist and herpetologist Albert Günther in 1874 with its type locality given as Fort Rupert, British Columbia. [8]

Description

The largest recorded length for the grunt sculpin is only 8.9 cm. Its main features are its big head, short, stout body, long pig snout, and orange fins. [3] The body is usually a yellow color with brown stripes contrasted by its very orange pectoral fins. [4] Compared to other sculpins, it has a small mouth with a longer snout affecting its feeding habits. [2] Although it can swim in an abnormal manner with its head pointing up, it mainly “hops” along the bottom of the ocean using its several pectoral fins. [3] [4] It’s phenotypically classified by its pectoral fins being separated from the upper lobe, the presence of anal and dorsal fin stays, and its hypural-parhypural bone being made of a singular piece. [6]

Distribution and habitat

The grunt sculpin is found around the coasts in the eastern Pacific Ocean, stretching from southern California to the Bering Sea, although it has also been seen off of the coast of Japan. [2] [9] In these regions, the grunt sculpin resides in a variety of habitats such as rocky shores, kelp forest, sandy beaches, and reefs. In these habitats, it generally remains in shallower waters (as shallow as two meters) but it has been found at depths of 165 meters. [2] [3] [9] It prefers to shelter in empty giant barnacles, but it will also live in debris under piers and floats in the absence of giant barnacles. [2] [3] Within the barnacles, the grunt sculpin will stick out its fins and wave them around to try to mimic the appearance and movement of the cirri of a living barnacle. [3]

Diet

The grunt sculpin has a small mouth for a sculpin, therefore it mainly preys on small crustaceans but sometimes small fishes and worms as well. Their main predators are rockcod and other carnivorous fishes. [2] [4] Classifying whether R. richardsonii are ram or suction feeders is difficult as it has physical features of both types and it feeds on both prey types (elusive and grasping) with similar success, though it fares better with smaller elusive prey. Ram feeders envelop the prey with a quick movement of their body while suction feeders use negative pressure to draw water and prey into their mouths. Elusive prey are prey that can initiate evasive maneuvers while grasping prey tend to hold onto the substrate to avoid being eaten. R. richarsonii tend to attack with lower velocities and from shorter distances (less than half its body length away) in comparison to other Cottidae fishes. [5]

Reproduction

Spawning generally occurs at the rocky shores from August to October. The female is the dominant mate in reproduction and will chase and trap the male within a rocky crevice until she has laid all her eggs (about 150). The eggs will hatch 16–20 weeks after fertilization depending on the temperature conditions. Larvae forms have been reported from March to June. [4] The larvae must remain near the shore as that is the habitat in which the grunt sculpin can survive. If the larva is lost to planktonic dispersal in the open ocean then the fish is unlikely to survive. [9] How the larvae are adapted and influenced by environmental factors to remain close to shore is unclear. [4] [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Rhamphocottus</i> Genus of fish

Rhamphocottus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Rhamphocottidae. These fishes are known as grunt sculpins. The grunt sculpins are found in the North Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhamphocottidae</span> Family of fish

Rhamphocottidae is a family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the superfamily Cottoidea, the sculpins. The species in this family occur in the North Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hemitripterinae</span> Family of fishes

The Hemitripterinae is a subfamily of the scorpaeniform family Agonidae, known as sea ravens or sailfin sculpins. They are bottom-dwelling fish that feed on small invertebrates, found in the northwest Atlantic and north Pacific Oceans. They are covered in small spines.

<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 in the 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 acuticeps</i> Species of fish

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.

<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.

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

Trachidermus fasciatus is a species of fish in the superfamily Cottoidea, the sculpins, and the only member of the monotypic genus Trachidermus. Its common name is roughskin sculpin. It has also been called four-gilled perch. It is native to the coastlines of China, Japan, and Korea, where it occurs at the mouths of rivers.

<i>Ereunias</i> Species of fish

Ereunias is a monotypic genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Rhamphocottidae, the grunt sculpins. Its only species is Ereunias grallator which is a bathydemersal species found at depths of around 500 m (1,600 ft) in the northwestern Pacific Ocean off Japan. This species attains a maximum published total length of 30 cm (12 in). This species was first formally described in 1901 by the American ichthyologists David Starr Jordan and John Otterbein Snyder from Misaki, Sagami in Japan. Jordan and Snyder proposed the new genus Ereunias for the new species. The genus name is derived from ereunao, meaning "to explore" which may refer how it uses elongated pectoral-fin rays as feelers or “feet” to explore the substrate; suffixed with ias which is used in some Greek names for fishes. The specific name grallator is "stiltwalker" in Latin and is an allusion to the elongated pectoral fin rays. Along with the genus Marukawichthys this taxon was classified in the family Ereunidae but this was synonymised with the Rhamphocottidae in 2014.

<i>Blepsias</i> Genus of fishes


Blepsias is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Agonidae, the poachers and related fishes. These fishes are found in the coastal northern Pacific Ocean from Japan to California.

<i>Blepsias cirrhosus</i> Species of fish

Blepsias cirrhosus, the silverspotted sculpin, is a species of sculpin belonging to the subfamily Hemitripterinae of the family Agonidae. This species is found the northern Pacific Ocean from the Sea of Japan and Alaska to San Miguel Island off southern California.

<i>Blepsias bilobus</i> Species of fish

Blepsias bilobus, the crested sculpin, is a species of sculpin belonging to the subfamily Hemitripterinae of the family Agonidae. This species is found in the North Pacific Ocean.

<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.

<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.

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

The butterfly sculpin is a species of fish in the family Agonidae. It is found in the North Pacific Ocean.

Zaniolepis frenata, also known as the shortspine combfish, is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Zaniolepididae.The species occurs in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Rhamphocottus nagaakii is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Rhamphocottidae, the grunt sculpins. This species was first formally described in 2022 with its type locality given as off Minami-Sanriku cho in Miyagi Prefecture of Japan. It is thought to have evolved from a common ancestor to the grunt sculpin but the two species were thought to have been separated by a cooling event during either the Pliocene or Miocene. This species differs from the grunt sculpin genetically and morphologically. The specific name honours Nagaaki Satoh, a professional diving instructor, who was the first to observe the reproductive behaviour of R. nagaakii and passed these observations to the species' describers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hypsagoninae</span>

Hypsagoninae is a subfamily of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Agonidae, part of the sculpin superfamily Cottoidea. These fishes are found in the North Pacific Ocean.

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

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> Species of fish

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. ↑ Orr, W. & Jensen, G.C. (2021). "Rhamphocottus richardsonii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021: e.T158882723A158883853. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T158882723A158883853.en . Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Harbo, Rick (2011). Whelks to whales : coastal marine life of the Pacific Northwest. Harbour Publishing. ISBN   978-1-55017-491-5. OCLC   1127723747.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Lamb, Andrew; Edgell, Phil (2010). Coastal fishes of the Pacific Northwest. Harbour Pub. ISBN   978-1-55017-471-7. OCLC   502633376.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fitch, J.E; Lavenberg, RJ (1975). "An Introduction to California Plant Life. California Natural History Guides.Robert OrnduffSierra Wildflowers. Mt. Lassen to Kern Canyon. California Natural History Guides: 32.Theodore F. NiehausGrasses in California. California Natural History Guides: 33.Beecher CramptonNative Shrubs of the Sierra Nevada. California Natural History Guides: 34.John Hunter Thomas, Dennis R. Parnell". The Quarterly Review of Biology. 50 (4): 476–477. doi:10.1086/408851. ISSN   0033-5770.
  5. 1 2 Norton, Stephen F. (199). "Capture Success and Diet of Cottid Fishes: The Role of Predator Morphology and Attack Kinematics". Ecology. 72 (5): 1807–1819. doi:10.2307/1940980. JSTOR   1940980.
  6. 1 2 Smith, W. Leo; Busby, Morgan S. (2014). "Phylogeny and taxonomy of sculpins, sandfishes, and snailfishes (Perciformes: Cottoidei) with comments on the phylogenetic significance of their early-life-history specializations". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 79: 332–352. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2014.06.028. ISSN   1055-7903. PMID   25014569.
  7. ↑ Munehara, H.; Togashi, K.; Yamada, S.; et al. (2022). "Rhamphocottus nagaakii (Cottoidea: Rhamphocottidae), a new species of grunt sculpin from the northwestern Pacific, with notes on the phylogeography of the genus Rhamphocottus". Ichthyological Research. doi:10.1007/s10228-022-00885-y.
  8. ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Rhamphocottus". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Saruwatari, Toshiro; Betsui, Kazuei; Okiyama, Muneo (1987). "Occurrence of the Grunt Sculpin (Rhamphocottus richardsoni) Larvae from Northern Central Japan". Ichthyological Research. 34 (3): 387–392. doi:10.1007/bf03380130. ISSN   1341-8998.
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