The Cyclopteridae are a family of marine fishes, commonly known as lumpsuckers or lumpfish, in the order

Scorpaeniformes The Scorpaeniformes are a diverse order of ray-finned fish, including the lionfishes and sculpins, but have also been called the Scleroparei. It is one of the five largest orders of bony fishes by number of species, with over 1,320. They are ...

. They are found in the cold waters of the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

, and

North Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

oceans. The greatest number of species are found in the North Pacific. The family name ''Cyclopteridae'' derives from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

words ''κύκλος'' (kyklos), meaning "circle", and ''πτέρυξ'' (pteryx), meaning "wing" or "fin", in reference to the circle-shaped

pectoral 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 ...

s of most of the fish in this family.

Description

Lumpsuckers are named appropriately enough; their portly bodies are nearly

spherical A sphere () is a geometrical object that is a three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three-dimensional space.. That given point is the ce ...

with generally drab coloration and lithic patterns. The "sucker" part refers to the fish's modified

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, which have evolved into

adhesive Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation. The use of adhesives offers certain advant ...

discs (located ventrally, behind the pectoral fins); the fish use these discs to adhere to the substrate. Many species have bony, wart-like ''

tubercle In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal. In plants A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection ...

s'' adorning the head and body; these are important

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

features of the family. The simple, rounded fins are small with the exception of the broad, fan-like pectorals, which actually extend ventrally. The first of the two

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 ...

s is spinous, with 4-8 spines; in some species, this fin is completely overgrown with skin and therefore not visible. While the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

in lumpsuckers is otherwise reduced or absent, it is well developed in the head; some species even have tubular, whisker-like external projections of the opercular canal, which is a part of the

cranial Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...

lateral line system. The relatively small mouths of lumpsuckers are lined with narrow rows of small

conical A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...

teeth. The

gas bladder The swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw, or air bladder is an internal gas-filled organ that contributes to the ability of many bony fish (but not cartilaginous fish) to control their buoyancy, and thus to stay at their current water depth w ...

is absent. In terms of length, lumpsuckers range in size from in the case of ''

Eumicrotremus awae ''Eumicrotremus awae'' is a species of lumpfish endemic to the Pacific coast of Honshu, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, an ...

'' up to more than in the case of the common lumpsucker ''

Cyclopterus lumpus ''Cyclopterus lumpus'', the lumpsucker or lumpfish, is a species of marine fish in the family Cyclopteridae (lumpsuckers). It is the only member of the genus ''Cyclopterus''. It is found in the North Atlantic and adjacent parts of the Arctic Oce ...

''.

Habitat and diet

As their appearance might suggest, lumpsuckers are poor swimmers. Most species are ''

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

''; that is, they spend most of their time on or near the bottom. The fish are found on rocky or muddy substrates, where their colouration allows for effective

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...

. Members of the family are found primarily on the

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...

slope In mathematics, the slope or gradient of a line is a number that describes both the ''direction'' and the ''steepness'' of the line. Slope is often denoted by the letter ''m''; there is no clear answer to the question why the letter ''m'' is use ...

, at depths down to . Some of the deeper-living species are however

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or wa ...

, remaining some distance above the ocean floor. Benthic species feed on

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s such as

polychaete Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class (biology), class of generally marine invertebrate, marine annelid worms, common name, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that ...

worms,

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

s and

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

s. Pelagic species target prey they are capable of overtaking, namely slow-moving

jellyfish Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbrella- ...

and

ctenophore Ctenophora (; ctenophore ; ) comprise a phylum of marine invertebrates, commonly known as comb jellies, that inhabit sea waters worldwide. They are notable for the groups of cilia they use for swimming (commonly referred to as "combs"), and ...

s. Before their

yolk Among animals which produce eggs, the yolk (; also known as the vitellus) is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg whose primary function is to supply food for the development of the embryo. Some types of egg contain no yolk, for example bec ...

is completely absorbed, juvenile lumpsuckers consume the larvae of

s, which grow on seaweed near the surface, and smaller halacrid mites. Juveniles consume larger harpacticoids and

isopods Isopoda is an order of crustaceans that includes woodlice and their relatives. Isopods live in the sea, in fresh water, or on land. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, an ...

after they have absorbed their yolk.

Behaviour and reproduction

Lumpsuckers are a poorly studied group, with little known of their behaviour and biology. At least some species are known to travel great distances in order to

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: ...

in shallow, intertidal waters (from December to June in the smooth lumpsucker); this may well be true of all species. Males are also known to guard the brood of spherical eggs. One of the peculiarities of Lumpsuckers'

neural system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes th ...

is that they lack

Mauthner cell The Mauthner cells are a pair of big and easily identifiable neurons (one for each half of the body) located in the rhombomere 4 of the hindbrain in fish and amphibians that are responsible for a very fast escape reflex (in the majority of animals � ...

neurons in their

hindbrain The hindbrain or rhombencephalon or lower brain is a developmental categorization of portions of the central nervous system in vertebrates. It includes the medulla, pons, and cerebellum. Together they support vital bodily processes. Metencephalo ...

, while these cells are present in virtually all other

teleost Teleostei (; Greek ''teleios'' "complete" + ''osteon'' "bone"), members of which are known as teleosts ), is, by far, the largest infraclass in the class Actinopterygii, the ray-finned fishes, containing 96% of all extant species of fish. Tel ...

fish. Nevertheless, the lumpsuckers do have a C-startle response, which is apparently mediated by other hindbrain cells. Hatchlings have well-developed pectoral fins and adhesive pelvic discs, which the fish use to cling to rocks in shallow water. Young fish remain in shallow, warmer water until fully developed.

Pacific cod The Pacific cod (''Gadus macrocephalus)'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Gadidae. It is a bottom-dwelling fish found in the northern Pacific Ocean, mainly on the continental shelf and upper slopes, to depths of about . It can grow ...

and

sablefish The sablefish (''Anoplopoma fimbria'') is one of two members of the fish family Anoplopomatidae and the only species in the genus ''Anoplopoma''. In English, common names for it include sable (US), butterfish (US), black cod (US, UK, Canada), ...

are known

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

s of lumpsuckers.

Fishers and the lumpsucker industry

The only species that is targeted commercially is ''

'', which is targeted primarily for its roe in Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and Norway, and to a lesser extent in Denmark and Sweden. ''Cyclopterus lumpus'' are also caught from the wild to provide broodstock for the

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

industry where the fish is used as a

cleaner fish Cleaner fish are fish that show a specialist feeding strategy by providing a service to other species, referred to as clients, by removing dead skin, ectoparasites, and infected tissue from the surface or gill chambers. This example of cleaning ...

to remove

sea lice Sea lice (singular: sea louse) are copepods (small crustaceans) of the family Caligidae within the order Siphonostomatoida. They are marine ectoparasites (external parasites) that feed on the mucus, epidermal tissue, and blood of host fish. The ...

in salmon aquaculture.

Species

There are about 30 species in eight genera: * Genus ''

Aptocyclus The smooth lumpfish (''Aptocyclus ventricosus'') is a species of lumpfish native to the North Pacific where it is found at depths down to . This species grows to a length of TL. It is the only known member of its genus. Description The smoo ...

'' De la Pylaie, 1835 ** '' Aptocyclus ventricosus'' (

Pallas Pallas may refer to: Astronomy * 2 Pallas asteroid ** Pallas family, a group of asteroids that includes 2 Pallas * Pallas (crater), a crater on Earth's moon Mythology * Pallas (Giant), a son of Uranus and Gaia, killed and flayed by Athena * Pa ...

, 1769) (Smooth lumpsucker) * Genus ''

Cyclopsis ''Cyclopsis tentacularis'' is a species of lumpfish native to the Sea of Okhotsk. It occurs at depths of from . This species grows to a length of SL. This species is the only known member of its genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxono ...

'' Popov, 1930 ** '' Cyclopsis tentacularis'' Popov, 1930 * Genus ''

Cyclopteropsis ''Cyclopteropsis'' is a genus of small lumpfishes native to the North Pacific and Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest ...

'' Soldatov & Popov, 1929 ** '' Cyclopteropsis bergi'' Popov, 1929 ** '' Cyclopteropsis brashnikowi'' ( P. Y. Schmidt, 1904) ** '' Cyclopteropsis inarmatus'' Mednikov ( ru) & Prokhorov, 1956 (Bumpy lumpsucker) ** '' Cyclopteropsis jordani'' Soldatov, 1929 (Smooth lumpfish) ** '' Cyclopteropsis lindbergi'' Soldatov, 1930 ** '' Cyclopteropsis mcalpini'' ( Fowler, 1914) (Arctic lumpsucker) ** '' Cyclopteropsis popovi'' Soldatov, 1929 * Genus '' Cyclopterus''

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

, 1758 ** ''

, 1758 (Lumpsucker) * Genus ''

Eumicrotremus ''Eumicrotremus'' is a genus of lumpfishes native to the northern oceans. The name for this genus comes from the Greek roots ''eu'' meaning "good", ''mikros'' meaning "small" or "little", and ''trema'' meaning "hole". Species There are currently ...

'' T. N. Gill, 1862 ** '' Eumicrotremus andriashevi'' Perminov, 1936 *** '' E. a. aculeatus'' Voskoboinikova & Nazarkin, 2015 (Andriashev's spicular-spiny pimpled lumpsucker) *** '' E. a. andriashevi'' Perminov, 1936 (Andriashev's spiny pimpled lumpsucker) ** '' Eumicrotremus asperrimus'' ( S. Tanaka (I), 1912) **''

'' D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1902 ** '' Eumicrotremus derjugini'' Popov, 1926 (Leather-fin lumpsucker) ** '' Eumicrotremus eggvinii'' Koefoed, 1956 ** '' Eumicrotremus gyrinops'' (

Garman Garman is a surname or first name. Notable people with the name include: Sports * Ann Garman, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player * Judi Garman (born 1954), American softball coach * Mike Garman (born 1949), American baseball pla ...

, 1892) **'' Eumicrotremus jindoensis'' S. J. Lee, J.-K. Kim, Y. Kai, S. Ikeguchi, & T. Nakabo, 2017 ** ''

Eumicrotremus orbis The Pacific spiny lumpsucker (''Eumicrotremus orbis'') is a species of bony fish in the family Cyclopteridae. Description Pacific spiny lumpsuckers are a globular-shaped fish that typically measures in length, though the most common size is . ...

'' ( Günther, 1861) (Pacific spiny lumpsucker) ** '' Eumicrotremus pacificus'' P. Y. Schmidt, 1904 ** '' Eumicrotremus phrynoides'' C. H. Gilbert &

Burke Burke is an Anglo-Norman Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (–1206) had the surname ''de Burgh'' which was gaelicised ...

, 1912 (Toad lumpsucker) ** '' Eumicrotremus schmidti''

Lindberg Lindberg is a municipality in the district of Regen in Bavaria in Germany in the immediate neighbourhood of the larger town Zwiesel. Location Lindberg lies in the Danube Forest (''Donau-Wald'') region in the middle of the Bavarian Forest on ...

& Legeza, 1955 ** '' Eumicrotremus spinosus'' ( J. C. Fabricius, 1776) (Atlantic spiny lumpsucker) ** '' Eumicrotremus taranetzi'' Perminov, 1936 ** '' Eumicrotremus tartaricus''

& Legeza, 1955 ** '' Eumicrotremus terraenovae'' G. S. Myers & J. E. Böhlke, 1950 **'' Eumicrotremus uenoi'' S. J. Lee, J.-K. Kim, Y. Kai, S. Ikeguchi, & T. Nakabo, 2017 * Genus ''

Georgimarinus ''Georgimarinus barbatus'' is a lumpsucker of Cyclopteridae found in north Pacific Ocean. This species is characterized by the following unique apomorphies: teeth in the outer row at symphysis of premaxillae fuse with premaxillae, teeth at symphy ...

'' Voskoboinikova & Nazarkin, 2015 ** ''

Georgimarinus barbatus ''Georgimarinus barbatus'' is a lumpsucker of Cyclopteridae found in north Pacific Ocean. This species is characterized by the following unique apomorphies: teeth in the outer row at symphysis of premaxillae fuse with premaxillae, teeth at symp ...

'' (

& Legeza, 1955) * Genus ''

Lethotremus ''Lethotremus'' is a genus of lumpfishes native to the northern Pacific Ocean. Following a 2017 taxonomic review by Lee et al., the species ''Lethotremus awae'' was reclassified as a species of ''Eumicrotremus ''Eumicrotremus'' is a genus of ...

'' C. H. Gilbert, 1896 ** ''

Lethotremus muticus ''Lethotremus muticus'', also known as the docked snailfish (a somewhat misleading name as this species is not one of the true snailfish in the family Liparidae), is a species of lumpfish native to the Northeast Pacific. It is known from the Be ...

'' C. H. Gilbert, 1896 * Genus ''

Microancathus ''Microancathus'' is a genus of lumpfishes native to the North Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending ...

'' Voskoboinikova, 2015 ** '' Microancathus fedorovi'' (

Mandritsa Mandritsa ( bg, Мандрица, "Small dairy"; ) is a village in southernmost Bulgaria, part of Ivaylovgrad municipality, Haskovo Province. It is known as the only Albanian village in Bulgaria. As of 14 December 2006, Mandritsa has a population ...

, 1991) (Fedorov's lumpsucker) ** '' Microancathus tokranovi'' Voskoboinikova, 2015 (Tokranov's lumpsucker) *Genus ''

Proeumicrotremus ''Proeumicrotremus soldatovi'', also known as Soldatov's lumpsucker, is a species of lumpfish native to the Northwest Pacific, and the only species in the genus ''Proeumicrotremus''. It is known from the Sea of Okhotsk, where it can be found at ...

'' Voskoboinikova & Orlov, 2020 ** '' Proeumicrotremus soldatovi'' (Popov, 1930)

References

{{Authority control Cyclopteridae Cyclopteroidea Articles containing video clips Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte