''Myoxocephalus scorpius'', typically known as the shorthorn sculpin or bull-rout, is a species of

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

in the family

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 ...

. It is a

demersal The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer of ...

species of the

Northern 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#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

and adjacent

subarctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Generally, ...

and

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 ...

seas.Shorthorn Sculpin, ''Myoxocephalus scorpius''
Canada's Polar Life: Organisms. www.polarlife.ca The species has many English names that are used less frequently or in small parts of its range, including Arctic sculpin, daddy sculpin, European sculpin, father-lasher, goat sculpin, Greenland sculpin, guffy, horny whore, pig-fish, scully, scummy, short-spined sea scorpion and warty sculpin.

Appearance

It reaches maturity at in length and specimens from the Arctic and subarctic, which grow to the largest size, can reach up to . The fish has a squat appearance, a large spiny head and a tapering body. It is a mottled grey-brown in colour but can be darker, including black as base coloring. It has a large mouth and spiny gill covers. The shorthorn sculpin is not venomous, but it can be mistaken for similar looking venomous fishes, notably

scorpionfish The Scorpaenidae (also known as scorpionfish) are a family of mostly marine fish that includes many of the world's most venomous species. As their name suggests, scorpionfish have a type of "sting" in the form of sharp spines coated with venom ...

Habitat and behavior

The shorthorn sculpin is found among

seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...

or on rocky bottoms with mud or sand from . Although primarily a marine species, it also occurs in

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

waters like the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. Like some other coldwater fish, it has

antifreeze protein Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) or ice structuring proteins refer to a class of polypeptides produced by certain animals, plants, fungi and bacteria that permit their survival in temperatures below the freezing point of water. AFPs bind to small i ...

s, which allow it to survive at temperatures around or slightly below freezing. It was known that sculpin have been affected by heavy metal exposure in West Greenland by a former lead (Pb) - zinc (Zn) mine. Through analyzing samples of three different sites, a positive correlation was found between fish at a closer distance to the mine and mucus secretion. This mucus creates a layer over the body that can cause respiratory stress, irregular swimming, and also affects their relationships with parasites. Researchers are hoping to use this mucosal mapping to help better understand effects of contaminant and parasite exposure for future studies. They feed on a wide range of

and benthic fishes and

crustaceans 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 ...

.The Pocket Guide to Saltwater Fishes of Britain and Europe The shorthorn sculpin spawns in December through March, the eggs being laid on between rocks in a clump protected by the male. They usually hatch in five weeks.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1481591

scorpius Scorpius is a zodiac constellation located in the Southern celestial hemisphere, where it sits near the center of the Milky Way, between Libra to the west and Sagittarius to the east. Scorpius is an ancient constellation that pre-dates the Gre ...

Fish described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus