Sculpin
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For the submarines, see USS Sculpin.
| Sculpin | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
| Suborder: | Cottoidei |
| Superfamily: | Cottoidea |
| Families | |
|
10-11 |
|
A sculpin is a type of fish that belongs to the superfamily Cottoidea in the order Scorpaeniformes.[1] As of 2006, this superfamily contains 11 families, 149 genera, and 756 species.[2]
Sculpins occur in many types of habitat, including ocean and freshwater zones. They live in rivers, submarine canyons, kelp forests, and shallow littoral habitat types, such as tidepools.[1]
Sculpins are benthic fish, dwelling on the bottoms of water bodies. Their pectoral fins are smooth on the upper edge and webbed with sharp rays along the lower edge, a modification that makes them specialized for gripping the substrate. This adaptation helps the fish anchor in fast-flowing water.[1]
Families[edit]
Families include:[3]
- Abyssocottidae: deep-water sculpins (24 species)
- Agonidae (47 species)
- Bathylutichthyidae: the Antarctic sculpin (one species)
- Comephoridae: Baikal oilfishes (two species)
- Cottidae: common sculpins (258 species, including Icelidae, sometimes regarded as separate)
- Cottocomephoridae: bighead sculpins, Baikal sculpins (9 species)
- Ereuniidae: deepwater bullhead sculpins (three species)
- Hemitripteridae: sea ravens, sailfin sculpins (eight species)
- Psychrolutidae: fatheads (40 species)
- Rhamphocottidae: the grunt sculpin (one species)
Gallery[edit]
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References[edit]
- ^ a b c Kane, E. A. and T. E. Higham. (2012). Life in the flow lane: differences in pectoral fin morphology suggest transitions in station-holding demand across species of marine sculpin. Zoology (Jena) 115(4), 223-32.
- ^ Nelson, J. S. (2006) Fishes of the World. 4th Ed. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
- ^ Froese, R. and D. Pauly. (Eds.) Order Summary for Scorpaeniformes. FishBase. 2011.
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