Troutnut Forum > Specimen Discussion > Mottled Sculpin
The Specimen
Cottidae (Sculpins) Sculpin Adult
View 7 PicturesThis seems to be a mottled sculpin, Cottus bairdi. Normally this species is more mottled.
View 7 PicturesThis seems to be a mottled sculpin, Cottus bairdi. Normally this species is more mottled.Region: Catskills
Collected May 6, 2007
Added May 18, 2007
The Discussion
| Taxon | May 18th, 2007, 11:49 pm | |
| Mercer Island, WA Posts: 525 | Jason- I believe it to be a Mottled Sculpin (Cottus bairdii), which occurs in rubble and gravel riffles, and is less often in sand-gravel runs of headwaters, creeks and small rivers. Also found in springs and their effluents and rocky shores of lakes, they feed mainly on aquatic insect larvae, but also on crustaceans, annelids, fishes, fish eggs, and plant material.  | |
| Roger Rohrbeck www.FlyfishingEntomology.com | ||
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| DMM | May 18th, 2007, 11:56 pm | |
| Posts: 141 | TAXON-- How many sculpins occur back east? I'm just wondering how you got the ID since sculpins are very difficult. It often takes things like lateral line pores to properly identify them. I'm not being hostile, just genuinely interested. | |
| David | ||
| Troutnut | May 19th, 2007, 12:26 am | |
| Fairbanks, AK Posts: 1147 | My dad (a fishery biologist) also says its probably a mottled sculpin. His IM: Your new fish is probably a mottled sculpin, Cottus bairdi. It's fairly light in color for a mottled sculpin, and the typical dark bands don't show well; but this species can change its color in response to stress or environmental conditions more than most fish. All the other dimensions, fin ray counts, etc. suggest its a mottled sculpin. Also, the Fishes of New York website from Cornell lists only the mottled sculpin and slimy sculpin. So as long as everyone's in agreement that it's not the latter, I'll call it a mottled sculpin for now. | |
| Jason Neuswanger The Troutnut | ||
| DMM | May 19th, 2007, 12:47 am | |
| Posts: 141 | Sounds good to me. I do realize that the sculpin diversity is much richer out here by me, but I didn't realize you had so few species there. | |
| David | ||
| Taxon | May 19th, 2007, 1:01 am | |
| Mercer Island, WA Posts: 525 | David- Actually, it wasn't all that quick. The fact is, just six weeks ago, I had prepared a report on WA resident freshwater sculpin for a fellow fly tyer in a flyfishing club to which I belong. Having already done this research allowed me to simply compare Jason's specimen photos to those I had collected previously, and a visual match jumped out at me. Incidentally, freshwater sculpin (genus Cottus), are represented in North America by (57) species, and in WA by (10) species, but according to NatureServe Explorer, by only (2) species in NY. The other one is Slimy Sculpin (Cottus cognatus), which is likely the one Jason is more accustomed to seeing. Hope my answer satisfactorily addresses the point of your question. However, if I've somehow missed the mark, just let me know. | |
| Roger Rohrbeck www.FlyfishingEntomology.com | ||
| GONZO | May 19th, 2007, 12:44 pm | |
| "Bear Swamp," PA Posts: 1003 | David, Sculpin diversity in the East is not limited to two species, but the mottled sculpin and the slimy sculpin are by far the most common. This does appear to be a mottled sculpin, but they can be pretty difficult to tell apart. (The mottled sculpin will have palatine teeth, and the slimy won't.) Other (rarer) Eastern species include: The spoonhead sculpin (Cottus ricei) and deepwater sculpin (Myoxocephalus thompsoni) are deepwater species found in the Great Lakes. The Potomac sculpin (Cottus girardi) is found in the Potomac drainage, and the Blue Ridge sculpin (Cottus caeruleomentum) is a new species distinguished from the mottled sculpin by protein analyses and some morphological traits. The black sculpin (Cottus baileyi) is found in headwaters of the Watauga, Clinch, and Holston rivers (VA and TN). The pygmy sculpin (Cottus pygmaeus) is restricted to Coldwater Spring, Calhoun County, Alabama. | |
| DMM | May 19th, 2007, 3:07 pm | |
| Posts: 141 | Thanks all for the lesson. Most fish biologists out here only care about salmonids. Whenever they see a sculpin, they say "oh, just another sculpin." It's too bad as they are cool little fishes.
I didn't mean to imply that there were only two species in the east, but I know that evolutionarily, it seems that sculpins have invaded the country from the west, and then moved east. We have marine and freshwater species here. Also, sculpins like Cottus asper and Leptocottus armatus are very euryhaline (found in water of very different salinities). I actually know a sculpin expert, and I probably got a little caught up in some of my conversations with him. He assures me that there will be more species described in the country (he thinks he has another one in CA). For a lot of keys, couplets have steps like: 1. usually has palatine teeth, 15-18 anal fin rays 1'. has palatine teeth, 16-19 anal fin rays I just made these numbers up, but I've seen similar couplets in sculpin keys. Color is often a poor indicator of species too, as these fishes can be quite variable (and water temp can change fin ray counts). Anyway, thanks for the info all. It was interesting. I may have to look up pictures of all the little guys GONZO listed, now. | |
| David | ||
| GONZO | May 19th, 2007, 3:25 pm | |
| "Bear Swamp," PA Posts: 1003 | I didn't mean to imply that there are only two species in the east.... You didn't imply this, David, and I appreciate the additional insights into sculpin evolution. I was just surprised that the NY references didn't include the deepwater Great Lakes species. Several PA references do include them, even though they are considered extirpated species here. (Some may exist in Lake Erie, but this seems uncertain.) And I certainly agree that they are "cool little fishes." This is a very beautiful specimen, whatever the species. | |
| GONZO | May 19th, 2007, 8:52 pm | |
| "Bear Swamp," PA Posts: 1003 | David, Just as a side note, and because we share a fascination with sculpins, I thought I'd mention that we also have a few marine species in the East. Of those, the longhorn sculpin, Myoxocephalus octodecimspinosus, (quite a mouthful!) and the shorthorn sculpin, Myoxocephalus scorpius, are the most common. I'm familiar with the shorthorn because--I'm embarrassed to admit--I once collected a very large specimen with a Hawaiian sling while doing breath-holding dives in the frigid waters off Acadia NP, Maine. I was immediately ashamed of myself, and that episode ended my incomprehensible interest in sling-fishing forever! | |
| DMM | May 19th, 2007, 9:21 pm | |
| Posts: 141 | I once collected a very large specimen with a Hawaiian sling You must never be forgiven! Seriously, if you want to see a cool sculpin, look up the grunt sculpin (Rhamphocottus richardsonii). This little marine guy doesn't swim much; he walks. They shuffle about on their large (even for a sculpin) pectoral fins. | |
| David | ||
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