Pacific staghorn sculpin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pacific staghorn sculpin |
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The Pacific staghorn sculpin (scientific name: Leptocottus armatus) is a type of fish. It lives in the ocean and belongs to a group called "typical sculpins." You can find this fish in the eastern Pacific Ocean, along the west coast of North America. It's the only fish in its special group, called Leptocottus.
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About the Pacific Staghorn Sculpin
Naming the Sculpin
The Pacific staghorn sculpin was first officially described in 1854. A French scientist named Charles Frédéric Girard gave it its name. He found the first one in San Francisco, California. He also created a new group, or genus, just for this fish, calling it Leptocottus.
What Its Name Means
The name Leptocottus comes from two parts. Leptos means "slender," and Cottus is another type of sculpin fish. The second part of its name, armatus, means "armed." This refers to the large, sharp spines on its cheek area, called the preoperculum.
What Does It Look Like?
Pacific staghorn sculpins have a slender body. Their head is wide, large, and quite flat. Their body gets narrower towards the tail. They are usually grayish-olive on top, with some yellow hints. Their belly is a creamy yellow color. These fish can even change their color to blend in with their surroundings!
Their fins have special markings. The fins on their belly and near their bottom are lighter. The tail fin is dark with one or two light stripes. The two fins on their back are connected. The first back fin has black spots near the tips of its last three spines. It also has a white band along its base. The second back fin is dark with white or yellowish stripes. Their large side fins are yellow with five or six dark green stripes.
The sculpin's big eyes are on top of its head. It has a wide mouth filled with many small teeth. The large spine on its cheek has three or four sharp, curved little spines at its end. The fins on its back have 6 to 8 strong spines and 15 to 20 soft rays. The fin on its belly has 14 to 20 soft rays. Its tail fin is rounded. This fish does not have any scales. The line along its side, called the lateral line, is straight. These sculpins can grow up to 46 centimeters (about 18 inches) long. However, they are usually around 35 centimeters (about 14 inches).
Where Do They Live?
The Pacific staghorn sculpin lives in the eastern Pacific Ocean. You can find them along the west coast of North America. Their range stretches from Izembek Lagoon in Alaska down to San Quintín in Baja California, Mexico.
These fish often live close to the shore. They especially like bays and estuaries, which are places where rivers meet the sea. They prefer sandy areas. Adult sculpins live in calm, salty water in estuaries. Young sculpins, called juveniles, can be found in freshwater streams and the upper parts of estuaries.
Life and Habits of the Sculpin
Adapting to Water
Pacific staghorn sculpins mostly live in salty or slightly salty water. But they are amazing because they can also live in fresh water or very salty water! Young sculpins start their lives in estuaries, usually over soft, sandy ground.
What They Eat
Young sculpins often leave the estuary and swim up rivers into fresh water. Most of the sculpins found in fresh or less salty water are young ones. They eat small shrimp-like creatures, other tiny water animals, small fish, and insect larvae. Older fish tend to swim further upstream than the younger ones. Sculpins living in the sea might move in and out with the tides. They hunt for crabs, shrimp, and other fish. They mostly feed at night, but they will look for food any time of day.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Pacific staghorn sculpins lay their eggs in salty or slightly salty water. This usually happens between October and April. In California, they lay eggs in January and February. Each female can lay between 2,000 and 10,000 eggs! After laying their eggs, the adult fish quickly move to deeper waters. The eggs hatch into tiny larvae in about 10 days.
These fish have a cool trick: they can breathe air when they are out of the water! They also like to bury themselves in sandy areas to hide.
