Sharpnose sculpin (Clinocottus acuticeps)

Scientific name: Clinocottus acuticeps Gilbert, 1896

The Sharpnose sculpin (Clinocottus acuticeps) is a freshwater fish of the family Cottidae. Native range: Eastern Pacific, Bering Sea coast of Alaska to Big Sur River, central California, USA.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 7 - 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14-16; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 10 - 13; Vertebrae: 32 - 33. Distinguished by the flattened tripartite anal papilla and the cirri on the eyeballs, head, lateral line and at the tip of each dorsal spine. Gill rakers reduced to low smooth mounds; lateral line high toward the head, curving downward to middle of sides, straight toward the tail, each of the anterior 15 or so pores having a slender cirrus. Next to the last anal ray longer than the rays before and behind it; pectorals reach to or just beyond front of anal fin; caudal rounded. Color varies with the environment, sometimes nearly uniform bright green but more often green to light brown above with dark wedge-shaped saddles, broader below, on upper part of sides, with lighter color between; sometimes, along or below lateral line, a dark longitudinal stripe that is in some cases interrupted with light

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Clinocottus acuticeps
Family
Cottidae (Sculpins)
Order
Scorpaeniformes (Scorpionfishes and Flatheads)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
6.4
Common length
4.4
Environment
Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal
Climate
Temperate
Distribution
Eastern Pacific: Bering Sea coast of Alaska to Big Sur River, central California, USA.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: of no interest
Resilience
High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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