Teleostei (teleosts) >
Perciformes/Cottoidei (Sculpins) >
Psychrolutidae (Fatheads)
Etymology: Malacocottus: Greek, malakos, = soft + Greek, kottos = a fish (Ref. 45335); kincaidi: Named after Prof. Trevor Kincaid, University of Washington (Ref. 6885).
More on authors: Gilbert & Thompson.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 27 - 1025 m (Ref. 6793). Deep-water; 66°N - 40°N, 135°E - 123°W
North Pacific: Hokkaido, Japan and Sea of Okhotsk to Cape Navarin in the Bering Sea, west in the Aleutian Islands to Stalemate Bank and Puget Sound, Washington, USA.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 20.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2850)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 8 - 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14 - 15; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 11 - 12. Caudal bluntly rounded; pectorals large, emarginate, the inner surface joined to body by a fold of skin; pelvic fins small (Ref. 6885). Color gray to light brown dorsally, lighter below with fine dark speckling; several irregular brown blotches on dorsal surface, and light spots on sides; narrow light bands on margin of all fins (except pelvic) with darker band below; light bands on rayed dorsal, caudal, and pectoral fins; mature males with golden margins on dorsal fins during breeding (Ref. 6885).
Usually on soft bottoms (Ref. 2850).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Eschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald and H. Hammann, 1983. A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Boston (MA, USA): Houghton Mifflin Company. xii+336 p. (Ref. 2850)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Gamefish: yes
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 1.1 - 6.4, mean 3.7 °C (based on 226 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5625 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00244 - 0.04107), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.4 ±0.1 se; based on diet studies.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).