''Artedius corallinus'', the coralline sculpin, is a species of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Cottidae The Cottidae are a family of fish in the superfamily Cottoidea, the sculpins. It is the largest sculpin family, with about 275 species in 70 genera.Kane, E. A. and T. E. Higham. (2012)Life in the flow lane: differences in pectoral fin morphology ...

, the typical

sculpin A sculpin is a type of fish that belongs to the superfamily Cottoidea in the order Scorpaeniformes.Kane, E. A. and T. E. Higham. (2012)Life in the flow lane: differences in pectoral fin morphology suggest transitions in station-holding demand a ...

s. It is found in the eastern North Pacific along the coasts of the western United States and

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

Taxonomy

''Artedius corallinus'' was first formally described as ''Allartedius corallinus'' in 1926 by the American

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

Carl Leavitt Hubbs Carl Leavitt Hubbs (October 19, 1894 – June 30, 1979) was an American ichthyologist. Biography Youth He was born in Williams, Arizona. He was the son of Charles Leavitt and Elizabeth (née Goss) Hubbs. His father had a wide variety of jobs (f ...

with its type locality given as

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''corallinus'' means “pertaining to coral”, probably referring to this species association with

coralline algae Coralline algae are red algae in the order Corallinales. They are characterized by a thallus that is hard because of calcareous deposits contained within the cell walls. The colors of these algae are most typically pink, or some other shade of re ...

and it’s camouflaged color and pattern.

Description

''Artedius corallinus'' has a large wide flattened head with a mouth reaching the rear edge of its large eyes. The colour is dark gray to rufous on the upper body and head with a pair of clear white bands on the head with a reddish-brown band between them and an obvious white spot at the base of the caudal peduncle. The non paired fins are transparent with brown spines an rays, the

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

s are also transparent but are marked with brown barring. There is a row of circular white spots just above the

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

. The first

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

is supported by 9 spines, the second dorsal fin contains 15-16 soft rays while the anal fin has12-13 soft rays. The pelvic fin contains a single spine and 3 soft rays, the pectoral fins have 15-16 soft rays and the caudal fin is truncate. The coralline sculpin has a maximum published

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

of .

Distribution and habitat

''Artedius corallinus'' Is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Orcas Island in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

south to Isla San Martín,

. this is a species which is found in cracks and under boulders in rocky areas from the intertidal zone down to .

Biology

''Artedius corallinus'' feed on algae, amphipods, copepods, polychaetes, shrimps, and gastropods. They are

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

and fertilization is external. In intertidal areas these fish may have a home pool to which they retreat at low tide but as the tide comes in they follow the advancing waters to forage in pools farther up the beach.

References

External links

Coralline Sculpin (''Artedius corallinus'')
at th
Encyclopedia of Life
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2497817 corallinus Fish described in 1926 Fish of the Pacific Ocean Taxa named by Carl Leavitt Hubbs