The long-spined bullhead (''Taurulus bubalis''), also known as the long-spined sea-scorpion, and the long-spined scorpion fish is a
coastal fish of the sculpin family
Cottidae, inhabiting marine waters of Europe.
Description
The longspined bullhead is a small fish with a thick, tapering body and a large head and resembles the
shorthorn sculpin (''Myoxocephalus scorpius''). It has two spines on each side on the gill cover, the front one extending further than the rear one. The skin is not clad in scales. There is a row of bony tubercles running along the flank on the lateral line and there are backward sloping bony tubercles on the crown of the head. It has a variety of colours ranging from shades of brown or olive green, with cream blotches and four dark, vertical bands. The belly is pale bluish-green but becomes suffused with red in males in the breeding season.
Behavior
Bullhead are
predators
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 the ...
that will eat prawns, molluscs and small fish such as
gobies and
blennies. Despite their small size they are aggressive and will attack fish bigger than themselves. They lie in wait for prey,
camouflaged against rocks and weed before striking out at anything that passes. Like all fish in the family
Cottidae, the bullhead does not have a swim bladder, meaning that it sinks as soon as it stops swimming. Breeding takes place in early spring and fertilisation is internal, the
eggs are laid in
algae
Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...
and are guarded by the adults. Once the fry hatch, they go offshore for a while, before returning to the coast. The reproduction of this species has not been fully studied however. They can be found from tidal areas to down, though they are most common at the coast.
[The Pocket Guide to Saltwater Fishes of Britain and Europe]
Other names
Other English names for this species include sea scorpion, bullhead, rockfish, rock sculpin, scorpion fish, clobberhead.
References
*
* : ''Taurulus bubalis''
Long-spined Bullhead
(ukonline, aquarium-pages)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1507426
longspined bullhead
Marine fish of Europe
Monotypic fish genera
longspined bullhead