Shorthead sculpin | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
Family: | Cottidae |
Genus: | Cottus |
Species: | C. confusus |
Binomial name | |
Cottus confusus | |
The shorthead sculpin (Cottus confusus) is a species of fish in the family Cottidae. Shorthead Sculpins are bottom-dwelling small fish, typically sizing around 13 to 15 cm long. They have large heads and fanlike pectoral fins. They have 7-9 dorsal spines, 15-19 dorsal soft rays, and 10-14 anal soft rays. Narrow caudal peduncle. Palatine teeth and coloration being dark brown and yellow. [2]
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 of Washington and in California [3] They will inhabit water where the temperatures range from 15.5 °C to 23.9 °C. The fish reaches a maximum length of 15.0 cm. [4] They will reside in rocky riffles of cold, clear streams, and occasionally lakes. They are benthic, sedentary, and nocturnal. Shorthead sculpin inhabit cold and cool water streams embedded with gravel-rocky substrates [5] .In Idaho they are found year-round, while in other regions found primarily in the spring.
The shorthead sculpin diet resembles the same as other sculpins. They are benthic invertivores meaning they eat primarily aquatic insects, small fish, or trout and salmon eggs. They will spend the days hiding under rocks and then at night prey on the small invertebrates making them nocturnal hunters. [6]
Reproduction- Females reach sexual maturity around two to three years and males two years of age. Spawning occurs in the spring when water temperature ranges from 8 to 15 degrees Celsius. Sculpins are nest builders. The males will prepare a nest which is typically built underneath rocks. The female will lay the eggs and then leave and then the male fertilizes the eggs. The male stays to guard and care for the eggs. [7]
Conservation status of these fish are least concern in the United States. Main threats to the species are extended periods of low flows and runoff from mining and industrial activities. Another threat is non-native species. Researchers have found that Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Yellow Perch, Northern Pike, and Pumpkinseed pose a moderate to high ecological threat to the Shorthead sculpin. [8]
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.
The slimy sculpin is a freshwater species of fish belonging to the family Cottidae, which is the largest sculpin family. They usually inhabit cold rocky streams or lakes across North America, ranging from the Great Lakes, southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa, southwest Wisconsin and northeast Canada. Slimy sculpins have also been found roaming the cold streams of eastern Siberia. They are commonly confused with their closely related relatives, Mottled sculpin, and with tubenose gobies who are both freshwater fishes as well. The slimy sculpin is a nocturnal fish that usually spends most of its time on the stream bottom and seeks shelter under rocks and logs, especially during spawning season. When it swims, it sometimes appears to be "hopping" along the bottom because of its inefficient ability to swim. This is partly due to the absence of a swim bladder, which normally gives buoyancy to a fish.
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 mottled sculpin is a species of freshawater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. This species has a wide but scattered North American distribution.
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.
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 red Irish lord is a species of marine ray-finned fish in the family Agonidae. It is found in the northern Pacific Ocean, from Russia to Alaska and as far south as Monterey Bay. It is a distinctly red fish, with brown, yellow, white, and black mottling, that is generally around 30 cm (12 in) long, though specimens can grow to up to 51 cm (20 in) in length. German naturalist Wilhelm Gottlieb Tilesius formally described it in 1811. Carnivorous, it hides camouflaged among rocks on the ocean floor and lashes out to seize its prey—crabs, fish and shrimp.
The alpine bullhead or Siberian bullhead is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cottidae of sculpins. It is found in China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, North Korea, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, and Ukraine. This fish is listed as being of "Least Concern" by the IUCN.
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.
The long-spined bullhead, also known as the long-spined sea-scorpion, and the long-spined scorpion fish is a coastal fish of the sculpin family Cottidae, inhabiting marine waters of Europe.
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.
The Coastrange sculpin is a freshwater sculpin of the genus Cottus. They are commonly found near the ocean in western North America, namely Canada and the United States. It is also known as the Aleutian sculpin.
The prickly sculpin is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is native to the river drainages of the Pacific Slope of North America from Seward, Alaska south to the Ventura River of Southern California. It extends east of the Continental Divide in the Peace River of British Columbia. It has also been introduced to several reservoirs in Southern California.
The Paiute sculpin is a species of fish in the family Cottidae. It is found in the United States, inhabiting the Columbia River drainage from Idaho, western Wyoming, and northeastern Nevada to western Washington and Oregon, and endorheic basins including Lake Tahoe in Nevada and California. It reaches a maximum length of 13.0 cm. It prefers rubble and gravel riffles of cold creeks and small to medium rivers. It is also found in rocky shores of lakes.
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.
The inland riffle sculpin is a species of fish in the family Cottidae. It is found in the United States, inhabiting the lower Columbia River drainage in Washington, to Morro Bay in California. It is also found in the Puget Sound drainage in Washington. It reaches a maximum length of 11.0 cm. It prefers rocky riffles of headwaters and creeks.
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 Ozark sculpin is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is endemic to Missouri,United States. Inhabiting the Osage, Gasconade, and Black river drainages in Missouri. It reaches a maximum length of 14.0 cm. It prefers rocky riffles of headwaters and creeks.
The reticulate sculpin is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is found in the United States, inhabiting Pacific Slope drainages from the Snohomish River and Puget Sound in Washington to the Rogue River system in Oregon and California. It reaches a maximum length of 10.0 cm. This sculpin occurs in a variety of habitats, but mainly occurs in the slower sections of coastal headwaters, creeks, and small rivers. It prefers faster water with rubble or gravel substrate, but occurs in pools and along stream edges when other sculpin species are present. Often it occurs in clear cold water in forested areas. Its ideal habitat is cold creeks in old-growth forest, with plenty of riffles and runs. This species is tolerant of variable water temperatures and salinities. Where other sculpin species are common, spawning occurs in slow-flowing areas; where other sculpin species are rare or absent, spawning usually occurs in riffles.
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.