| Megalocottus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Megalocottus platycephalus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
| Family: | Cottidae |
| Subfamily: | Cottinae |
| Genus: | Megalocottus T. N. Gill, 1861 |
| Type species | |
| Cottus platycephalus | |
| Species | |
See text. | |
Megalocottus is a small genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. These fishes are found in the western Pacific Ocean.
Megalocottus was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1861 by the American biologist Theodore Gill with Cottus paltycephalus which had been described in 1814 by Peter Simon Pallas from Kamchatka and the Sea of Okhotsk as its only species. [1] [2] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies this genus in the subfamily Cottinae of the family Cottidae [3] but other authorities classify it in the subfamily Myoxocephalinae of the family Psychrolutidae, [1] although others place the subfamily Myoxocephalinae within the Cottidae. [4]
Megalocottus prefixes megalo meaning "great" or large" with Cottus, presumed to be a reference to the large size of the type species. [5]
Megalocottus currently contains two recognized: [6]
Fishbase retains these two species as valid, other authorities treat the Southern flathead sculpin as a subspecies of the belligerent sculpin while others treat it as a M. taeniopterus as a junior synonym of M. platycephalus. This taxon is a sister taxon to the genus Myoxocephalus . [7]
In 2020 workers undertook a comparison of the Mitochondrial DNA of the fourhorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus quadricornis) and the belligerent sculpin and found that the fourhorn sculpin was more closely related to the belligerent sculpin than it was to the other species in the genus Myoxocephalus, they proposed that the fourhorn sculpin be reclassified as a member of the genus Megalocottus. [8]
The scaled sculpins, Icelus, are a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. Most of the fishes in this genus are found in the northern Pacific Ocean but they also occur in the North Atlantic Ocean.
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.
Myoxocephalus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. They are found in the northern Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, with a few species in lakes.
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.
The Andriyashev largeheaded sculpin is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This species is found in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. This monospecific genus, and therefore this species, are known from a single specimen, the holotype. This was collected from off Simushir Island in the Kuril Islands at a depth of 100 metres (330 ft). That specimen had a total length of 23.6 cm (9.3 in) long. FishBase classifies this taxon within the Cottidae but other authorities classify it within the subfamily Psychrolutinae of the family Psychrolutidae. The genus name Andriashevicottus includes a patronym, the person honoured was not identified by the describer Fedorov, however, it is almost certainly the Soviet ichthyologist Anatoly Petrovich Andriashev, the patronym is suffixed with Cottus, the type genus of the family Cottidae. The specific name megacephalus means "big head".
Argyrocottus is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. Its only species is Argyrocottus zanderi which is found in the northwestern Pacific Ocean from Japan to the Kuril Islands and in the Sea of Japan. It is found at depths of from 0 to 85 metres. This species grows to a standard length of 9 centimetres (3.5 in). This taxon was first formally described in 1892 by the Russian zoologist Solomon Herzenstein with its type locality given as Korsakov on Sakhalin in the Sea of Okhotsk. The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the genus Argyrocottus within the subfamily Cottinae of the family Cottidae, however, other authors classify the genus within the subfamily Myoxocephalinae of the family Psychrolutidae. although others place the subfamily Myoxocephalinae within the Cottidae.
Enophrys is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. These fishes are found in the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean.
Gymnocanthus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. These fishes are found in the northern Pacific, Arctic and northern Atlantic Oceans.
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.
The belligerent sculpin, or flathead 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.
Microcottus is a small genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. These fishes are found in the northern Pacific Ocean.
Oligocottus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. These sculpins are found in the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean.
The spineless sculpin is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This species is found in the Pacific Ocean where it is endemic to the waters around the Aleutian Islands, Alaska.
Porocottus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. These fishes are found in the northern and northwestern Pacific Ocean.
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.
Myoxocephalus jaok, the plain sculpin, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This species is found in the northern Pacific Ocean and adjacent Arctic Ocean.
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.
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 southern flathead 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.
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.