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Cottus cognatus Richardson, 1836

Slimy sculpin
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Cottus cognatus
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Perciformes/Cottoidei (Sculpins) > Cottidae (Sculpins)
Etymology: Cottus: Greek, kottos = a fish (Ref. 45335);  cognatus: Named after Mr. Fred Chamberlain, naturalist of the steamer Albatross, who collected the type (Ref. 11366).
More on author: Richardson.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; brackish; demersal; depth range 6 - 128 m (Ref. 1998). Temperate; 4°C - 16°C (Ref. 13614); 71°N - 37°N

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

North America: throughout most of mainland Canada and Alaska; Atlantic Slope drainages south to Potomac River in Virginia, USA; St. Lawrence-Great Lakes basin; upper Mississippi River basin in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, USA; upper Columbia River drainage in Canada and USA. Also in Siberia, Russia.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 7.4  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 12.1 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 27547); common length : 7.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 27547); max. reported age: 7 years (Ref. 28921)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 7 - 10; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14 - 19; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 10 - 14; Vertebrae: 31 - 35. Distinguished by the two pores on the chin and the short lateral line ending under the second dorsal fin (Ref. 27547). Gill rakers short and stubby, about 6 on first gill arch; lateral line incomplete, ending under middle of soft dorsal fin and usually having a few isolated pores behind this point; main portion with 12 to 26 pores (Ref. 27547). Pectorals large and fan-shaped, tips of lower rays projecting; fourth ray of pelvic much reduced; caudal rounded (Ref. 27547). Rather dark brown or green to dark gray on back and sides, whitish below, with vague, dark mottlings or bars below soft dorsal; belly sometimes with orange tints; soft dorsal, pectoral and caudal fins usually barred, pelvic fins and anal usually immaculate but sometimes barred; spiny dorsal dark at base, with a clear margin that may turn orange in breeding males; breeding males usually dark, sometimes black, all over (Ref. 27547).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabits rocky riffles of cold streams, rocky areas of lakes (commonly at 90-106 m depth), springs and their effluents (Ref. 5723). Moves into shallow water to spawn (Ref. 27547). In some areas, they are common in brackish water (Ref. 27843), presumably moving to and from fresh water, at least for spawning (Ref. 27547). Feeds mostly on aquatic insect larvae and nymphs but also on crustaceans, small fishes, and plant materials (Ref. 1998). May be used as bait, but this seems rare (Ref. 27547).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

The male chooses a nesting site under a rock or ledge. Spawning males are territorial toward other males (Ref. 27547). He attracts a female into the nesting site and after more courting the female deposits her adhesive eggs. The female is then driven out and the male guards the eggs until hatching occurs. The nest usually contains eggs from several females (Ref. 27547). The male has also been observed to guard the young (Ref. 1998).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr, 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 432 p. (Ref. 5723)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 24 June 2020

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: public aquariums
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
References
References

Tools

Special reports

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00676 (0.00300 - 0.01523), b=3.17 (2.98 - 3.36), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.4   ±0.47 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 8.1 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tm=2-4; tmax=7; Fec=42-1,420).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate to high vulnerability (50 of 100).