Cottus (fish)

''Cottus'' is a genus of the mainly freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. They are often referred to as the "freshwater sculpins", as they are the principal genus of sculpins to be found in fresh water. They are native to the Palearctic and Nearctic.

They are small fish, mostly less than in length, although a few species can reach twice that size.

Taxonomy

''Cottus'' was first proposed as a genus by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of the ''Systema Naturae'' when he described the European bullhead (''Cottus gobio'') and in 1850 this species was designated as the type species of the genus by the French ichthyologist Charles Frédéric Girard. The 5th edition of the ''Fishes of the World'' classifies this genus within the subfamily Cottinae of the family Cottidae. Other authorities have found that the Cottidae, as delimited in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World, is paraphyletic and that the monophyletic grouping is the freshwater sculpins, including the Baikal sculpins, while most of the marine taxa are classified within the family Psychrolutidae.
''Cottus kazika'' has been found to be outside of a monophyletic ''Cottus'' and has been classified in the monospecific genus ''Rheopresbe''.

Species

There are currently around 70 recognised species in this genus:

* Subgenus ''Cottus'' Linnaeus, 1758
** ''Cottus aturi'' Freyhof, Kottelat & Nolte, 2005
** ''Cottus cyclophthalmus'' Sideleva, Kesminas & Zhidkov, 2022
** '' Cottus duranii'' Freyhof, Kottelat & Norte, 2005 (Dordogne sculpin)
** ''Cottus dzungaricus'' Kottelat, 2006
** ''Cottus ferrugineus'' Heckel & Kner, 1857
** '' Cottus gobio'' Linnaeus, 1758 (European bullhead)
** '' Cottus gratzianowi'' Sideleva, Naseka & Zhidkov, 2015
** '' Cottus haemusi'' Marinov & Dikov, 1986
** '' Cottus hispaniolensis'' Băcescu & Băcescu-Mester, 1964
** ''Cottus jaxartensis'' Berg, 1916
** '' Cottus koshewnikowi'' Gratzianov, 1907
** '' Cottus metae'' Freyhof, Kottelat & Nolte, 2005
** '' Cottus microstomus'' Heckel, 1837
** '' Cottus perifretum'' Freyhof, Kottelat & Nolte,, 2005
** ''Cottus petiti'' Băcescu & Băcescu-Mester, 1964
** ''Cottus rhenanus'' Freyhof, Kottelat & Nolte, 2005
** ''Cottus ricei'' E. W. Nelson, 1876 (Spoonhead sculpin)
** ''Cottus rondeleti'' Freyhof, Kottelat & Nolte, 2005
** '' Cottus sabaudicus'' Sideleva, 2009
** ''Cottus scaturigo'' Freyhof, Kottelat & Nolte, 2005
** ''Cottus sibiricus'' Kessler, 1889 (Siberian sculpin)
** '' Cottus spinulosus'' Kessler, 1872 (Turkestan sculpin)
** '' Cottus transsilvaniae'' Freyhof, Kottelat & Nolte, 2005
* Subgenus ''Cephalocottus'' Gratzianov, 1907
** ''Cottus amblystomopsis'' P. Y. Schmidt, 1904 (Sakhalin sculpin)
** '' Cottus nozawae'' Snyder, 1911
* Subgenus Cottopsis Girard 1850
** ''Cottus aleuticus'' C. H. Gilbert, 1896 (Coast Range sculpin)
** '' Cottus asper'' J. Richardson, 1836 (Prickly sculpin)
** ''Cottus asperrimus'' Rutter, 1908 (Rough sculpin)
** ''Cottus gulosus'' Girard, 1854 (Inland riffle sculpin)
** ''Cottus klamathensis'' C. H. Gilbert, 1898 (Marbled sculpin)
** '' Cottus ohlone'' Moyle & Campbell, 2022 (Coastal riffle sculpin)
** '' Cottus perplexus'' C. H. Gilbert & Evermann, 1894 (Reticulate sculpin)
** ''Cottus pitensis'' R. M. Bailey & C. E. Bond, 1963 (Pit sculpin)
** '' Cottus princeps'' C. H. Gilbert, 1898 (Klamath Lake sculpin)
** '' Cottus tenuis'' Evermann & Meek, 1898 (Slender sculpin)
* Subgenus ''Uranidea'' DeKay, 1842
** ''Cottus baileyi'' C. R. Robins, 1961 (Black sculpin)
** '' Cottus bairdii'' Girard, 1850 (Mottled sculpin)
** '' Cottus bendirei'' T. H. Bean, 1881 (Malheur sculpin)
** ''Cottus caeruleomentum'' Kinziger, Raesly & Neely, 2000 (Blue Ridge sculpin)
** ''Cottus carolinae'' T. N. Gill, 1861 (Banded sculpin)
** ''Cottus chattahoochee'' Neely, J. D. Williams & Mayden, 2007 (Chattahoochee sculpin)
** '' Cottus cognatus'' J. Richardson, 1836 (Slimy sculpin)
** ''Cottus echinatus'' R. M. Bailey & C. E. Bond, 1963 (Utah Lake sculpin)
** ''Cottus extensus'' R. M. Bailey & C. E. Bond, 1963 (Bear Lake sculpin)
** '' Cottus girardi'' C. R. Robins, 1961 (Potomac sculpin)
** '' Cottus hubbsi'' R. M. Bailey & Dimick, 1949 (Columbia sculpin)
** ''Cottus hypselurus'' C. R. Robins & H. W. Robison, 1985 (Ozark sculpin)
** '' Cottus immaculatus'' Kinziger & R. M. Wood, 2010 (Knobfin sculpin)
** '' Cottus kanawhae'' C. R. Robins, 2005 (Kanawha sculpin)
** '' Cottus paulus'' J. D. Williams, 2000 (Pygmy sculpin)
** ''Cottus rhotheus'' R. Smith, 1882 (Torrent sculpin)
** '' Cottus specus'' G. L. Adams & Burr, 2013 (Grotto sculpin)
** ''Cottus tallapoosae'' Neely, J. D. Williams & Mayden, 2007 (Tallapoosa sculpin)
*Subgenus ''Incertae sedis''
** '' Cottus altaicus'' Kaschenko, 1899
** ''Cottus beldingii'' C. H. Eigenmann & R. S. Eigenmann, 1891 (Paiute sculpin)
** ''Cottus confusus'' R. M. Bailey & C. E. Bond, 1963 (Shorthead sculpin)
** ''Cottus czerskii'' L. S. Berg, 1913 (Cherskii's sculpin)
** '' Cottus greenei'' C. H. Gilbert & Culver, 1898 (Shoshone sculpin)
** ''Cottus hangiongensis'' T. Mori, 1930
** '' Cottus kazika'' D. S. Jordan & Starks, 1904 (Fourspine sculpin)
** '' Cottus kolymensis'' Sideleva & A. Goto, 2012Sideleva, V.G. & Goto, A. (2012): A New Species of Sculpin ''Cottus kolymensis'' sp. nova (Scorpaeniformes, Cottidae) from Rivers of Kolyma. ''Journal of Ichthyology, 52 (5): 301-307.''
** '' Cottus koreanus'' R. Fujii, Y. Choi & Yabe, 2005
** ''Cottus kuznetzovi'' L. S. Berg, 1903
** '' Cottus leiopomus'' C. H. Gilbert & Evermann, 1894 (Wood River sculpin)
** ''Cottus marginatus'' T. H. Bean, 1881 (Margined sculpin)
** '' Cottus nasalis'' L. S. Berg, 1933 (Tubenose sculpin)
** '' Cottus perplexus'' C. H. Gilbert & Evermann, 1894 (Reticulate sculpin)
** ''Cottus poecilopus'' Heckel, 1837 (Alpine bullhead)
** '' Cottus pollux'' Günther, 1873 (Japanese fluvial sculpin)
** '' Cottus reinii'' Hilgendorf, 1879
** '' Cottus schitsuumsh'' M. Lemoine, M. K. Young, McKelvey, L. Eby, Pilgrim & M. K. Schwartz, 2014 (Cedar sculpin)
** '' Cottus szanaga'' Dybowski, 1869
** '' Cottus volki'' Taranetz, 1933

Etymology

''Cottus'' is derived from the Greek ''kottos'', and is a latinisation that word, the original form of it being ''koviós'' or ''kóthos''. This is likely to mean "head" and is the word for a small fish with a large head, and is now used for sculpins.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cottus (Genus)

Cottinae
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Freshwater fish genera