Prickly sculpin • Cottus asper
{kottos = a fish; asper = rough}
Identification
The prickly sculpin can be mottled dark brown, olive-green, or grey with a white to yellowish underside. There is usually a dark spot on the back edge of the first dorsal fin, there are three irregularly-shaped blotches below the dorsal fin, and the fins are sometimes barred with black. This sculpin has a long anal fin, and a pore in the very centre of the underside of the lower jaw; this is visible head-on. There is an coastal and an interior form of this species; the two are genetically distinct and have different life histories. The coastal form does not have prickles on its skin, despite its name. This fish reaches 15 cm long.
Habitat & Range
The coastal form of the prickly sculpin spends time in sandy, slow-moving streams and small to medium-sized rivers, as well as in brackish water near river mouths. This form spawns in estuaries, and is found in coastal regions — including Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, and smaller islands — in British Columbia. The interior form is found in the southern and central interior of BC; the species as a whole is found from Seward, Alaska to Ventura River, California.
Similar Species
The similar coastrange sculpin (Cottus aleuticus), which may also be found in estuaries as well as streams and lakes, has a light spot in front of its tail fin and lacks the prickly sculpin's black dorsal fin spot. The prickly sculpin's anal fin is also longer, and the two species tend to be found in different habitat types (prickly in slow moving and sandy rivers; coastrange in fast-moving and gravelly).
Human Uses
This species is occasionally used as bait.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/69857-Cottus-asper
The prickly sculpin can be mottled dark brown, olive-green, or grey with a white to yellowish underside. There is usually a dark spot on the back edge of the first dorsal fin, there are three irregularly-shaped blotches below the dorsal fin, and the fins are sometimes barred with black. This sculpin has a long anal fin, and a pore in the very centre of the underside of the lower jaw; this is visible head-on. There is an coastal and an interior form of this species; the two are genetically distinct and have different life histories. The coastal form does not have prickles on its skin, despite its name. This fish reaches 15 cm long.
Habitat & Range
The coastal form of the prickly sculpin spends time in sandy, slow-moving streams and small to medium-sized rivers, as well as in brackish water near river mouths. This form spawns in estuaries, and is found in coastal regions — including Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, and smaller islands — in British Columbia. The interior form is found in the southern and central interior of BC; the species as a whole is found from Seward, Alaska to Ventura River, California.
Similar Species
The similar coastrange sculpin (Cottus aleuticus), which may also be found in estuaries as well as streams and lakes, has a light spot in front of its tail fin and lacks the prickly sculpin's black dorsal fin spot. The prickly sculpin's anal fin is also longer, and the two species tend to be found in different habitat types (prickly in slow moving and sandy rivers; coastrange in fast-moving and gravelly).
Human Uses
This species is occasionally used as bait.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/69857-Cottus-asper
References
Froese, R. and Valdestamon, R. R. Cottus asper Richardson, 1836 Prickly sculpin. FishBase. Accessed 08/03/2016.
Lamb, A. and Edgell, P. Coastal Fishes of the Pacific Northwest. Revised. (2010). Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. P. 214.
McPhail, J. D. and Carveth, R. Field Key to the Freshwater Fishes of British Columbia. Fish Museum, Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. P. 22.
Prickly Sculpin. California Fish Species. California Fish Website. University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Accessed 08/03/2016.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell (2016).
Froese, R. and Valdestamon, R. R. Cottus asper Richardson, 1836 Prickly sculpin. FishBase. Accessed 08/03/2016.
Lamb, A. and Edgell, P. Coastal Fishes of the Pacific Northwest. Revised. (2010). Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. P. 214.
McPhail, J. D. and Carveth, R. Field Key to the Freshwater Fishes of British Columbia. Fish Museum, Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. P. 22.
Prickly Sculpin. California Fish Species. California Fish Website. University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Accessed 08/03/2016.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell (2016).