font settings and languages

Font Size: Large | Normal | Small
Font Face: Verdana | Geneva | Georgia
Languages:

Cottus cognatus

(Western slimy sculpin)

Overview

[ Back to top ]

Family : Sculpins ;

Interesting Facts

[ Back to top ]
 

Common Names

[ Back to top ]

Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Danish:

Slimet ulk

Common Names in English:

anadyr sculpin, Bear Lake bullhead, Cockatouch, Common slimy muddler, miller's thumb, Northern sculpin, Slimy muddler, slimy sculpin, stargazer, Western slimy sculpin

Common Names in French:

chabot visqueux

Common Names in German:

Schleimige Groppe

Common Names in Haida:

Hl´aama, Hl'aama

Common Names in Inuktitut:

Kanaiyok

Common Names in Mandarin Chinese:

卡冈杜父鱼, 卡岡杜父魚, 粘杜父魚, 粘杜父鱼, 薄杜父魚, 薄杜父鱼

Common Names in Russian:

Anadyrskii podkamenshchik, слизистый подкаменщик

Description

[ Back to top ]

Physical Description

Species Cottus cognatus

Body: Mouth and snout: Terminal and very wide, with bands of fine teeth in bands on upper and lower jaws . No barbels . Snout rounded to blunt and dorsal-ventrally flattened. Body patterning, color, and scales : Mottled with irregular blotches, dark brown or black on a brown background with a cream or whitish belly. No scales, but a few fine prickles anteriorly just below the lateral line. Fins with brownish speckles, spots, and/or blotches. Body shape and size: Body dorsal-ventrally flattened, especially anteriorly. Typically 35-90 mm (1.5-3.5 in) TL ; maximum about 111 mm (4.5 in).

Fins: Tail, dorsal and other fins: Rounded or square tail. Two dorsal fins, slightly connected, the anterior with 6-10 flexible spines and the posterior with 14-19 rays. Pelvic fins thoracic , each with 1 spine and 3 rays. No adipose fin . Anal fin with 10-14 rays and no spines.

Distinguishing characteristics: The slimy sculpin can be distinguished by its pair of free and independent pelvic fins and its lack of scales. See also similar species information.

Breeding adults : Male may become very dark, with an orange edge to the first dorsal fin.

Juveniles : Similar to adults.

Size/Age/Growth

Males are commonly 8 cm (Total Length) in length when caught/marketed, but may be as large as 12 cm (Total Length).

Habitat

Inhabits rocky riffles of cold streams , rocky areas of lakes (commonly at 90-106 m depth), springs and their effluents [1]. Moves into shallow water to spawn [2]. In some areas, they are common in brackish water[3], presumably moving to and from fresh water , at least for spawning[2]. May be found at depths of 6 to 128 meters.

Biome: Marine .

Biology

[ Back to top ]

Diet

Feeds mostly on aquatic insect larvae and nymphs but also on crustaceans, small fishes , and plant materials [4].

Taxonomy

[ Back to top ]

Synonyms

Cottus boleoides Girard • Cottus chamberlaini Evermann & Goldsborough • Cottus formosus Girard • Cottus franklini Agassiz • Cottus gracilis Heckel • Cottus kaganowskii Berg • Cottus philonips Eigenmann & Eigenmann • Uranidea boleoides (Girard • Uranidea formosa (Girard • Uranidea franklini (Agassiz • Uranidea gracilis (Heckel • Uranidea hoyi Putnam • Uranidea quiescens Dekay

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

First described: Richardson, J. The fish. Fauna Boreali-Americana; or the zoology of of the northern parts of British America. (3): 327 p., 1836.

Last scrutiny: Data last modified by FishBase 31-May-1994

Similar Species

[ Back to top ]

Fish Name Pelvic Rays Prickles Lateral Line Dorsal Fins Gill Membranes Exposed (not covered with skin) Preopercular Spines Midline Chin Pores Palatine Teeth Ratio of Caudal Peduncle Length to Post-Orbital Distance Similarity Index Comments Deepwater Sculpin 3 Few, just above lateral line Complete, or nearly so 1st and 2nd clearly separate Narrowly joined, meet at acute angle 2-4; largest =1/2 of eye diameter in length 1-2? Present =1 Very similar Mottled Sculpin 4 Few, below lateral line Ends below 2nd dorsal fin 1st and 2nd touching Broadly joined, meet at shallow angle 1; ~1/2 of eye diameter in length 2 Usually present =1 Very similar Slimy Sculpin 3 Few, below lateral line Ends below 2nd dorsal fin 1st and 2nd touching Broadly joined, meet at shallow angle 1; ~1/2 of eye diameter in length 2 Usually present =1 N/A Moderately similar to round goby and tubenose goby, but distinguishable by its pair of free and independent pelvic fins and its lack of scales. In the gobies, the two pelvic fins are fused to form a disk and scales are present. Spoonhead Sculpin 4 Many, on head and back Complete 1st and 2nd touching Broadly joined, meet at shallow angle 1; >2/3 of eye diameter in length 1 Absent =1 Very similar

Members of the genus Cottus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 98 species and subspecies in this genus:

C. affinis (Rough Sculpin) · C. aleuticus (Coastrange Sculpin) · C. amblystomopsis (Sakhalin Sculpin) · C. asper (Prickly Bullhead) · C. asperrimus (Rough Sculpin) · C. aturi (Adour Sculpin) · C. australis (Eastern Fortesque) · C. baicalensis (Big-Headed Sculpin) · C. baileyi (Black Sculpin) · C. bairdi (Freshwater Sculpin) · C. bairdii (Rocky Mountain Bullhead) · C. bairdii bairdii (Freshwater Sculpin) · C. bairdii hubbsi (Columbia Mottled Sculpin) · C. bairdi bairdi (Freshwater Sculpin) · C. bairdi hubbsi (Columbia Mottled Sculpin) · C. beldingi (Paiute Sculpin) · C. beldingii (Paiute Sculpin) · C. bendirei (Malheur Sculpin) · C. bicornis (Twohorn Sculpin) · C. bubalis (Longspined Sea-Scorpion) · C. caeruleomentum (Blue Ridge Sculpin) · C. carolinae (Banded Sculpin) · C. carolinae carolinae (Banded Sculpin) · C. carolinae infernatis (Banded Sculpin) · C. cataphractus (Armed Bullhead) · C. cognatus (Western Slimy Sculpin) · C. cognatus cognatus (Western Slimy Sculpin) · C. cognatus gracilis (Bear Lake Bullhead) · C. confusus (Shorthead Sculpin) · C. czerskii (Cherskii's Sculpin) · C. diceraus (Antlered Sculpin) · C. duranii (Dordogne Sculpin) · C. echinatus (Utah Lake Sculpin) · C. extensus (Bear Lake Sculpin) · C. girardi (Potomac Sculpin) · C. gobio (Freshwater Sculpin) · C. gobio gobio (Freshwater Sculpin) · C. gobio jaxartensis (Bullhead) · C. gracilis (Yellow-Fin Baikal Sculpin) · C. greenei (Shoshone Sculpin) · C. grunniens (Grunting Toadfish) · C. gulosus (Riffle Sculpin) · C. haemusi (Vit Sculpin) · C. hemilepidotus (Red Irish Lord) · C. hispaniolensis (Pyrrenean Sculpin) · C. hubbsi (Columbia Sculpin) · C. hypselurus (Wood River Sculpin) · C. bairdii (Longfin Baikal Sculpin) · C. jaok (Plain Sculpin) · C. japonicus (Red Baikal Sculpin) · C. kazika (Baunt Sand Sculpin) · C. kessleri bauntovi (Baunt Sand Sculpin) · C. klamathensis (Marbled Sculpin) · C. kneri (Stone Sculpin) · C. koshewnikowi (Volga Sculpin) · C. leiopomus (Wood River Sculpin) · C. lilljeborgii (Norway Bullhead) · C. maculatus (Vitim Sculpin) · C. marginatus (Margined Sculpin) · C. bairdii (Southern Miller's Thumb) · C. metae (Save Sculpin) · C. microstomus (Baltic Sculpin) · C. monopterygius (Atlantic Alligatorfish) · C. nasalis (Tubenose Sculpin) · C. niger (Warthead Sculpin) · C. octodecemspinosus (Long-Spined Sculpin) · C. otaitensis (Frill-Lip Flathead) · C. paulus (Pygmy Sculpin) · C. perifretum (Bullhead) · C. perplexus (Reticulate Hookjaw Moray) · C. pistilliger (Threaded Sculpin) · C. pitensis (Pit Sculpin) · C. platycephalus (Belligerent Sculpin) · C. poecilopus (Siberian Bullhead) · C. poecilopus poecilopus (Mottlefoot Sculpin) · C. poecilopus volki (Alpine Bullhead) · C. pollux (Japanese Fluvial Sculpin) · C. polyacanthocephalus (Great Sculpin) · C. princeps (Klamath Lake Sculpin) · C. paulus (Pygmy Sculpin) · C. quadricornis (Alaska Fourhorn Sculpin) · C. rhenanus (Rhine Sculpin) · C. rhothea (Torrent Sculpin) · C. rhotheus (Torrent Sculpin) · C. ricei (Rice´s Sculpin) · C. rondeleti (H?rault Sculpin) · C. scaber (Rough Flat Head) · C. scaturigo (Timavo Sculpin) · C. scorpius (Daddy Sculpin) · C. sibiricus (Siberian Miller's Thumb) · C. spinulosus (Turkestan Sculpin) · C. tenuis (Slender Sculpin) · C. thomsonii (Pallid Sculpin) · C. transsilvaniae (Arges Sculpin) · C. tricuspis (Arctic Staghorn Sculpin) · C. uncinatus (Arctic Hookear Sculpin) · C. verrucosus (Warty Sculpin) · C. villosus (Woods' Clingfish)

More Info

[ Back to top ]

Further Reading

[ Back to top ]

Notes

[ Back to top ]

Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 05, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr (1991). A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 432 p. [back]
  2. Morrow, J.E. (1980). The freshwater fishes of Alaska. University of. B.C. Animal Resources Ecology Library. 248p. [back]
  3. Dunbar, M.J. and H.H. Hildebrand (1952). Contribution to the study of fishes of Ungava Bay. J. Fish. Res. Board Can. 9(2):83-128. [back]
  4. Scott, W.B. and E.J. Crossman (1973). Freshwater fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 184:1-966. [back]
Last Revised: 7/14/2012