Cottus cognatus

Taxonomy

Unambiguous Synonyms:

1. Cottus boleoides Girard, 1850
2. Cottus chamberlaini Evermann & Goldsborough, 1907
3. Cottus formosus Girard, 1851
4. Cottus franklini Agassiz, 1850
5. Cottus gracilis Heckel, 1837
6. Cottus kaganowskii Berg, 1932
7. Cottus philonips Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1892
8. Uranidea boleoides (Girard, 1850)
9. Uranidea formosa (Girard, 1851)
10. Uranidea franklini (Agassiz, 1850)
11. Uranidea gracilis (Heckel, 1837)
12. Uranidea hoyi Putnam, 1876
13. Uranidea quiescens DeKay, 1842

Notes:

Name Status: Accepted Name.

Family: Sculpins.

Hybrids: Mottled sculpin X slimy sculpin possible.

Physical Description

Family Cottidae:

Distribution: Northern Hemisphere and near New Zealand. Body often appears naked, commonly bearing scales or prickles; eye usually large, located high on the head. Lateral line one. One spine on pelvic fin and 2-5 soft rays. Anal fin lacking spines. No swim bladder in adults. Reaches about 78 cm maximum length in Scorpaenichthys marmoratus. Marine sculpins = ISSCAAP 39; freshwater sculpins = ISSCAAP 13.

The family Cottidae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) and the Order Scorpaeniformes. It contains 70 genera and 300 species. It may be found in Marine, Brackish, and Freshwater environments and is primarily Peripheral/diadromous. Some members of this family are 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. Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be sluggish. Members of this family have been dated back to the Oligocene epoch of the Tertiary period. This family may be found from 80° n to 30° s and 180° w to 180° e. Etymology of this family name: Greek, kottos = name of a fish. 1854

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).

Images:

Distribution

Aquatic Regions

North America: throughout most of mainland Canada and Alaska; Atlantic Slope drainages south to Potomac River in Virginia, USA; St. Lawrence-Great Lakes basin; upper Mississippi River basin in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, USA; upper Columbia River drainage in Canada and USA. Also in Siberia, Russia.

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^[4]. May be found at depths of 6 to 128 meters.

Biome

Fresh water. Demersal.

Fresh water, brackish water. Demersal.

Diet

Feeds mostly on aquatic insect larvae and nymphs but also on crustaceans, small fishes, and plant materials^[5].

Similar Species

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:

There are approximately 153 species and subspecies in this genus. Here are just 100 of them: C. aeneus · C. alanticus · C. aleuticus (Aleutian Sculpin) · C. amblystomopsis (Sakhalin Sculpin) · C. annae · C. asper (Bullhead) · C. asperrimus (Rough Sculpin) · C. aturi · C. baileyi (Black Sculpin) · C. baileyi phenax · C. bairdi bairdi · C. bairdi bairdii · C. bairdi carolinae · C. bairdi euryzonatus · C. bairdi fumorum · C. bairdi hubbsi (Columbia Mottled Sculpin) · C. bairdi kulmieni · C. bairdi punctulatus · C. bairdi semiscaber · C. bairdii (Beard's Sculpin) · C. bairdii bairdii · C. bairdii gulosus · C. bairdii hubbsi (Columbia Mottled Sculpin) · C. bairdii kumlieni · C. bairdii punctulatus · C. bairdii semicscaber · C. bairdii semiscaber · C. bairdii unispinis · C. bairdii x · C. beldingii (Paiute Sculpin) · C. bendirei · C. bondi · C. brevis · C. c0gnatus · C. caeruleomentum (Blue Ridge Sculpin) · C. carolinae (Banded Sculpin) · C. carolinae carolinae · C. carolinae infernatis (Banded Sculpin) · C. carolinae kanawhae · C. carolinae zopherus · C. carolinea · C. cf. carolinae · C. cognathus · C. cognatus (Anadyr Sculpin) · C. cognatus cognatus · C. cognatus gracilis (Bear Lake Bullhead) · C. cognatus raneyi · C. confusus (Shorthead Sculpin) · C. czerskii (Cherskii's Sculpin) · C. duranii · C. echinatus (Utah Lake Sculpin) · C. evermanni · C. extensus (Bear Lake Sculpin) · C. gobio · C. franklinii · C. girardi (Potomac Sculpin) · C. gobio (Bullhead) · C. gobio gobio · C. gobio haemusi · C. gobio jakartensis · C. gobio jaxartensis (Bullhead) · C. gobio koshewnikowi · C. gobio macrostomus · C. gobio milvensis · C. gobio pellegrini · C. gobio roseus · C. gobioides · C. greenei (Shoshone Sculpin) · C. grewingki alexandrae · C. gulosus (Riffle Sculpin) · C. gut · C. gut content · C. gobio · C. hangiongensis · C. hilgendorfi · C. hispaniolensis · C. hubbsi (Columbia Sculpin) · C. hubbsi bairdi · C. hypselurus (Ozark Sculpin) · C. hyselurus · C. bairdii (Miller's Thumb) · C. kajika · C. kanawhae · C. kazika (Fourspine Sculpin) · C. kessleri bauntovi (Baunt Sand Sculpin) · C. klamathensis (Marbled Sculpin) · C. klamathensis macrops · C. koreanus · C. koshewnikowi · C. kumlieni · C. leiopomus (Wood River Sculpin) · C. marginata · C. marginatus (Margined Sculpin) · C. bairdii (Southern Miller's Thumb) · C. metae · C. microstomus · C. minutus volki · C. nasalis (Tubenose Sculpin) · C. nozawae · C. octodecimspinosus

Members of the genus Quercus:

There are approximately 2,253 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them: Q. cerris acuto-bipinnata · Q. gambellii vreelandii · Q. kerneri kerneri · Q. kerneri montserratii · Q. macrocarpa olivaeformis · Q. oleoides sagreana · Q. peduncularis callos · Q. phillyraeoides fokiensis · Q. seemannii gulielmi-treleasei · Q. utahensis eu-utahensis · Q. alienocrispula · Q. allorgeana · Q. alvordiana · Q. anceps · Q. andegavensis · Q. andrewsii · Q. angustifolia · Q. asheana · Q. ashei · Q. baenitzii · Q. barnova · Q. battandieri · Q. beadlei · Q. beaumontiana · Q. bebbiana · Q. beckyae · Q. bedoi · Q. bimundorum · Q. blufftonensis · Q. borosii · Q. budensis · Q. burnetensis · Q. bushii · Q. byersii · Q. caduca · Q. caesariensis · Q. capesii · Q. carolinensis · Q. celtica · Q. chasei · Q. cocksii · Q. columnaris · Q. comptonae · Q. costae · Q. cravenensis · Q. crispulimongolica · Q. deamii · Q. demarei · Q. digenea · Q. discreta · Q. diversiloba · Q. egglestonii · Q. eplingii · Q. ermolenkoi · Q. exacta · Q. exoniana · Q. fallax · Q. faxonii · Q. fernaldii · Q. fernowii · Q. ferreirae · Q. filialis · Q. fontana · Q. fulhamensis · Q. gallaecica · Q. ganderi · Q. garlandensis · Q. giffordii · Q. guadalupensis · Q. guerangeri · Q. harbisonii · Q. hastingsii · Q. heuffelii · Q. hickelii · Q. hillii · Q. hollickii · Q. howellii · Q. humidicola · Q. illesiana · Q. inaequalis · Q. incomita · Q. inconstans · Q. intercedens · Q. introgressa · Q. jackiana · Q. jahandiezii · Q. jolonensis · Q. joorii · Q. leana · Q. libanerris · Q. lowellii · Q. lucana · Q. lucombeana · Q. ludoviciana · Q. macdanielii · Q. macnabiana · Q. mahonii · Q. mairei · Q. marianica · Q. megaleia

Bibliography

• Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, A. L. Gardner, and W. C. Starnes 2003. Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada.
• Berg, L.S. (1965). Freshwater fishes of the U.S.S.R. and adjacent countries. volume 3, 4th edition. Israel Program for Scientific Translations Ltd, Jerusalem. (Russian version published 1949).
• Craig, P.C. and J. Wells (1976). Life history notes for a population of slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus) in an Alaskan arctic stream. J. Fish Res. Board Can. 33(7):1639-1642.
• McPhail, J.D. and R. Carveth (1993). Field key to the freshwater fishes of British Columbia. Fish Museum, Department of Zoology, U.B.C., Canada, 239 p.
• Morrow, J.E. (1980). The freshwater fishes of Alaska. University of. B.C. Animal Resources Ecology Library. 248p.
• Newman, L. (1995). Census of fish at the Vancouver aquarium, 1994. Unpublished manuscript.
• 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.
• 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.
• Richardson, J. (1836). The fish. Fauna Boreali-Americana; or the zoology of of the northern parts of British America. (3): 327 p.
• Robins, Richard C., Reeve M. Bailey, Carl E. Bond, James R. Brooker, Ernest A. Lachner, et al. 1980. A List of Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States and Canada, Fourth Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication, no. 12. American Fisheries Society. Bethesda, Maryland, USA. 174.
• Scott, W.B. and E.J. Crossman (1973). Freshwater fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 184:1-966.

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Notes

Contributors:

• Amaoka, Kunio (from FishBase).
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed April 20, 2007.
• Campos-da-Paz, Ricardo (from FishBase).
• Froese, R., and D. Pauly. FishBase 2004. International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 05, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 14 providers.
• Lyons, John. WiscFish.org University of Wisconsin, Center for Limnology, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin Sea Grant. Provided photos, physical description, and table comparing similar species.

Data Sources:

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 05, 2008:

• Burke Museum: University of Washington Fish Collection
• Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Fish Collection
• Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates: Fish Collection
• FishBase: FishBase DiGIR Provider - Philippine Server
• GBIF-Sweden: Fishes (NRM)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Atlantic Reference Centre (OBIS Canada)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Canadian Museum of Nature - Fish Collection (OBIS Canada)
• Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History: Vertebrate specimens
• Museum national d'histoire naturelle: Ichtyologie
• Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University: MCZ Fish Collection
• Royal Ontario Museum: Fish specimens
• Senckenberg: Collection Pisces
• University of Alaska Museum of the North: University of Alaska Museum of the North Fish Collection
• University of Alberta: University of Alberta Ichthology Collection
• University of Kansas Biodiversity Research Center: Fish Collection
• University of Minnesota Bell Museum of Natural History: Fish specimens

Identifiers:

• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 167258
• Fishbase Species ID: 48046
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 117397
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: AFC4E02080
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 13775

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.
2. Morrow, J.E. (1980). The freshwater fishes of Alaska. University of. B.C. Animal Resources Ecology Library. 248p.
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.
4. Morrow, J.E. (1980). The freshwater fishes of Alaska. University of. B.C. Animal Resources Ecology Library. 248p.
5. Scott, W.B. and E.J. Crossman (1973). Freshwater fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 184:1-966.