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• Taxonomy
• Physical Description
• Distribution
• Habitat
• Similar Species
• Bibliography
• More Info
• Notes
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Overview:

Family: Deep-water sculpins;

Taxonomy

Unambiguous Synonyms:

1. Asprocottus herzensteini platycephalus Taliev, 1955

Notes:

Name Status: Accepted Name. Latest taxonomic scrutiny: –

Physical Description

Family Abyssocottidae:

Distribution: primarily Lake Baikal, Siberia. Postcleithra reduced or absent; dorsal fin with 3-10 spines and 10-21 soft rays; anal fin with 8-16 soft rays; pelvic fin with one spine and 2-4 soft rays; vertebrae 30-37. Generally occur below 170 m.

The family Abyssocottidae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) and the Order Scorpaeniformes. It contains 6 genera and 20 species. It may be found in Freshwater environments and is primarily Peripheral/diadromous. Members of this family are not used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are guarders. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is subcarangiform. This family may be found from 57° n to 52° s and 100° w to 106° e. Etymology of this family name: Greek, abyssos = bottomless + Greek, kottos = a kind of fish; derived from Greek, kotta = head

Distribution

Range and Population

Former USSR: Endemic to Lake Baikal.

Habitat

May be found at depths of 50 to 800 meters. Usually found at depths of 250 to 460 meters.

Biome

Fresh water. Bathydemersal.

Similar Species

Members of the genus Asprocottus:

There are approximately 13 species and subspecies in this genus: A. abyssalis · A. herzensteini (Herzenstein's Rough Sculpin) · A. herzensteini abyssalis · A. herzensteini intermedius · A. herzensteini parmiferus · A. herzensteini platycephalus · A. intermedius · A. korjakovi · A. megalops eurystomus · A. minor · A. parmiferus · A. platycephalus · A. pulcher

Bibliography

• Reshetnikov, Y.S., N.G. Bogutskaya, E.D. Vasil'eva, E.A. Dorofeeva, A.M. Naseka, O.A. Popova, K.A. Savvaitova, V.G. Sideleva and L.I. Sokolov (1997). An annotated check-list of the freshwater fishes of Russia. J. Ichthyol. 37(9):687-736.
• Sideleva, V.G., V.P. Prirodina, and I.V. Khanayev (1995). Karyotypes of benthic Lake Baikal Cottoids, with remarks about karyological evolution in relation to bathymetric distribution. J. Ichthyol. 35(9):295-304.

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Notes

Contributors:

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 7, 2006.
• Campos-da-Paz, Ricardo (from FishBase).
• FishBase 2006.
• Froese, R., and D. Pauly. FishBase 2004. International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management.

Identifiers:

• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 643782
• Fishbase Species ID: 48054
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 69952
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 103215