| Pacific spiny lumpsucker | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
| Family: | Cyclopteridae |
| Genus: | Eumicrotremus |
| Species: | E. orbis |
| Binomial name | |
| Eumicrotremus orbis Günther, 1861 | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
The Pacific spiny lumpsucker (Eumicrotremus orbis) is a species of bony fish in the family Cyclopteridae.
Pacific spiny lumpsuckers are a globular-shaped fish that typically measures 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.6 cm) in length, though the most common size is 1 inch (2.5 cm). [2] [1] [3] [4] It has a maximum known length of around 5 to 7 inches (13 to 18 cm). [4]
They have a wide mouth with large lips, and protruding eyes. [4] The fish also has a squared dorsal fin, rounded caudal fin, and thin, transparent pectoral fins. [4]
The lumpsucker's pelvic fins have evolved into a large, fringed suction cup, allowing it to attach to surfaces like rocks or kelp. [4] [2] [5] [3] This sucker also compensates the fish for its lack of gas bladder. [4] Because of their large, rounded shape with small fins, Pacific spiny lumpsuckers are ineffective swimmers and are most commonly found attached to solid objects. [2] [3] [4]
They do not have scales. [4] Instead, the body of the fish is covered in cone-shaped plates, called tubercles. [2] [3] [5] [4] Females have more tubercles than males. [4]
The Pacific spiny lumpsucker is seen in many colors, including brown and green, often with yellow or orange highlights. [4] Females are dull green in color, while males are dull orange to reddish brown. [6] [3]
Pacific spiny lumpsuckers are often found alone in nature. [4] When disturbed, they swim about aimlessly, hindered by their inefficient swimming. [4] Instead, the fish relies on effective camouflage to avoid detection from predators. [4]
They are considered harmless to humans. [1] [6] In fact, they are known to eat out of the hands of divers. [4]
Pacific spiny lumpsuckers are found from northern Washington state, especially Puget Sound, to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. [2] [3] They can also be found in the Bering Sea, the Chukchi Sea and around northern Japan. [1] [3] [4]
This species inhabits a wide variety of habitats, including eelgrass beds, rocky reefs, kelp patches, and other algae growth. [2] [5] [4] They are also found around shallow bays and docks. [2] [3] The fish lives in near-shore waters to a depth of 480 to 500 feet (150 to 150 m). [2] [5] [4]
Pacific spiny lumpsuckers feed on slow crustaceans, polychaete worms, and mollusks on the sandy or muddy sea floor. [4]
The species is known to spawn in shallow, warmer waters between the months of July and October. [4] The females lay large, spherical, orange-colored eggs on rocks, in sheltered holes. [4] Females typically lay around 200 eggs at a time in the nest and the male fertilizes them. [6] [4] After the eggs are laid, the male attaches himself to a nearby surface where he cares for the eggs by defending them from predators and circulating water over them with his fin to supply them with a steady flow of oxygen. [4] The male will defend the clutch for three to eight weeks before the juvenile lumpsuckers hatch and venture out solitarily to find food within a few days. [7]
The fluorescence of the males is a significant factor involved in reproduction and helps attract mates. Males are typically red and females are green in color. Males flash their rare red fluorescence when they are in close range of females to signal they are ready to mate. The fluorescence has been a successful evolutionary adaptation passed on because it increases success of reproduction. (Cohen, K. E., & Summers) [ citation needed ]
Pacific cod, sablefish, marine sculpins, and lancefish are known predators of pacific spiny lumpsuckers. [4] Crabs, sea stars and small fishes prey on lumpfish eggs. [4]
While the Pacific spiny lumpsucker has not yet been evaluated by the IUCN Red List, climate change may pose a threat to the species. [4] The fish relies on shallow waters for breeding and eelgrass for habitat. [4] Rising sea levels and warmer water temperatures threaten these habitats, and the species' survival. [4]
In the North Atlantic Ocean in areas such as Iceland and Norway, commercial lumpsucker fisheries raise and catch Cyclopterus lumpfish and their eggs for consumption. In northern Europe, both smoked lumpfish and lumpfish eggs, which can make for an inexpensive form of caviar, are sought after. [8] For that reason, they are targeted during their spawning seasons from July to October to collect the roe from the female lumpsuckers. Though the Pacific spiny lumpsucker is not targeted, harmful fishing tactics in their habitats like trawling have caused their populations to decrease. [4]
The Cyclopteridae are a family of marine fishes, commonly known as lumpsuckers or lumpfish, in the order Scorpaeniformes. They are found in the cold waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, and North Pacific oceans. The greatest number of species are found in the North Pacific. The family name Cyclopteridae derives from the Greek words κύκλος (kyklos), meaning "circle", and πτέρυξ (pteryx), meaning "wing" or "fin", in reference to the circle-shaped pectoral fins of most of the fish in this family.
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Oxyjulis californica is a species of wrasse native to the eastern Pacific Ocean along the coasts of California and Baja California. Its distribution extends from Salt Point in Sonoma County, California, to southern central Baja California, near Cedros Island. It is a very common species; its common name in Spanish is señorita.
The Pacific spiny dogfish is a common species of the Squalidae (dogfish) family of sharks and are among the most abundant species of sharks in the world. This species is closely related to Squalus acanthias and for many years they were treated as a single species. Recent research, using meristic, morphological and molecular data led to the resurrection of the Pacific spiny dogfish as a separate species. The American Fisheries Society recommends the common name "Pacific spiny dogfish" for Squalus suckleyi over alternatives such as "spotted spiny dogfish" and "North Pacific spiny dogfish" and "spiny dogfish" for Squalus acanthias.
Eumicrotremus andriashevi, also known as the pimpled lumpsucker, is a species of lumpfish native to the Arctic and North Pacific. In addition to the Arctic Ocean, it may be found in the Chukchi and Bering Seas, where it occurs at a depth range of 20 to 83 m. It is a small bottom-dwelling fish that reaches 4.8 cm in standard length.
Eumicrotremus asperrimus, also known as the Siberian lumpsucker, is a species of lumpfish native to the Northwest Pacific, where it can be found in the Bering Sea, the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, as well as off of Alaska and Hokkaido. It reaches 12 cm (4.7 in) in total length and occurs at a depth range of 20 to 900 m. It is a round and compact fish adorned with many distinct tubercles.
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Eumicrotremus derjugini, also known as the leatherfin lumpsucker or petite poule de mer Arctique, is a species of lumpfish native to the Arctic, the North Atlantic, and the North Pacific. It is known from Labrador, Ungava Bay, Hudson Bay, the Canadian Arctic, Svalbard, the Barents Sea, Franz Josef Land, Greenland, the Kara Sea, the Laptev Sea, the East Siberian Sea, the Chukchi Sea, and the Sea of Okhotsk. It occurs at a depth range of 5 to 1038 m, and it reaches 10 cm SL. It is a benthic species often found on substrates of mud, gravel, or stone at temperatures below 0 °C, feeding mainly on crustaceans and Oikopleura. The young of this species are reportedly seen in shallower water.
Eumicrotremus pacificus, sometimes known as the spotted lumpsucker or the balloon lumpfish, is a species of lumpfish native to the Northwest Pacific. It can be found in the Sea of Okhotsk, the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea, and the Pacific Ocean off Hokkaido and the Kuril Islands. It may be confused with the closely related Eumicrotremus orbis, which overlaps with E. pacificus in range, although E. pacificus is larger, reaching 20 cm (7.9 inches) TL. This fish is generally yellow to orange in color with small dark spots and its tubercles are usually smaller and less pronounced than E. orbis, giving it a less spiny appearance.
Proeumicrotrmus is a monospecific genus of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cyclopteridae, the lumpfishes or lumpsuckers. The only species in the genus is Proeumicrotremus soldatovi, Soldatov's lumpsucker. This species is found in the Northwest Pacific. It is known from the Sea of Okhotsk, where it can be found at depths of 10 to 350 m. It reaches 26 cm (10 in) in total length, making it larger than average for a lumpfish. It was previously considered a species of Eumicrotremus until a morphology-based revision in 2020 concluded that it represents the only known species of a distinct genus.
Eumicrotremus tartaricus is a species of lumpfish native to the Northwest Pacific. It is known from the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, Peter the Great Bay, and the Pacific coast of the Kuril Islands, where it may be found at a depth range of 20 to 30 m. It has sometimes been considered a subspecies of the Pacific spiny lumpsucker, but it is generally agreed upon that E. tartaricus represents its own distinct species.
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