The spinynose sculpin (''Asemichthys taylori'') is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, 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 northeastern Pacific Ocean from Alaska south to Washington and the San Juan Islands. The spinynose sculpin is the only species in the monospecific genus ''Asemichthys''. This sculpin lays its eggs on the egg masses of the buffalo sculpin (''

Enophrys bison ''Enophrys bison'', the buffalo sculpin, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, belonging to the Family (biology), family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Taxonomy The buffalo sculpin was first formal ...

''), thought to be a strategy to take advantage of the larger fish’s egg guarding behaviour.

Taxonomy

The spinynose sculpin was first formally described as ''Radulinus taylori'' in 1912 by the American ichthyologists

David Starr Jordan David Starr Jordan (January 19, 1851 – September 19, 1931) was the founding president of Stanford University, serving from 1891 to 1913. He was an ichthyologist during his research career. Prior to serving as president of Stanford Univer ...

and Charles Henry Gilbert. In the same year Gilbert reclassified this species in the monospecific genus ''Asemichthys''. The 5th edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011) is a standard reference for fish systematics. Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of the diversity and classification of the ...

'' classifies the genus ''Asemichthys'' within the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Cottinae of the family Cottidae, however, other authors classify the genus within the subfamily Radulininae of the family Psychrolutidae.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21446067, from2=Q28657220 Cottinae Fish described in 1912 Taxa named by David Starr Jordan Taxa named by Charles Henry Gilbert