The tidepool sculpin (''Oligocottus maculosus'') is a fish species in the sculpin 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 ...

that ranges from the Bering Sea to southern California. Individuals reach up to in length and are common in

tidepool A tide pool or rock pool is a shallow pool of seawater that forms on the rocky intertidal shore. Many of these pools exist as separate bodies of water only at low tide. Many tide pool habitats are home to especially adaptable animals that ...

Description

The tidepool sculpin grows to a length of about and has a large head, tapering body, and spiny fins. It has a single pre-opercular spine and tufts of cirri on the top of the head but not on the body below the dorsal fin as the fluffy sculpin (''Oligocottus snyderi'') does. It varies considerably in colour, is often marbled in grey, brown and white, but may be reddish or greenish and can change colour rapidly so as to

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 b ...

itself.

Distribution and habitat

The tidepool sculpin is found in the northeastern

Pacific Ocean 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 contin ...

from the Bering Sea to

southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

. Its depth range is from the intertidal zone down to about . It is tolerant of both brackish water and normal seawater. It is found higher up the shore and is more tolerant of warmer water than other species of sculpin such as the fluffy sculpin.

Ecology

The tidepool sculpin is a common small fish in pools in the intertidal zone of rocky coasts, flitting from one hiding place to another. It shows great homing ability, returning each time the tide recedes to the pool in which it has taken up residence. It has been shown to have the ability to return to its home pool from a distance of after having been displaced for six months. It is a

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 ...

, feeding on small

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

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, and ...

amphipods Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far describ ...

, gastropod molluscs, polychaete worms and barnacles, as well as

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

s that happen to fall into the water. Small amounts of algae also form part of the diet. Sculpins are preyed upon by diving birds and by predatory fishes when the tide is high. When the seas are rough it moves higher up the shore. It can leave the water and breathe air, exchanging both oxygen and carbon dioxide, while hiding in a damp spot, and it attempts to evade predators by flapping about or wriggling in an effort to reach a more favourable location. The fish become mature when about in length. The male has modified anal fin rays, and either they are used as claspers with fertilisation being internal, or the male clasps the female and fertilises the eggs as they are being laid. Small clusters of eggs are laid in late winter, often in crevices or empty barnacle shells. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e are

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucia ...

ic in the open sea; in embayments, they sometimes

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...

near the seabed. After thirty to sixty days the larvae move back to rock pools and become juvenile fish. Their growth rate is affected if they are too crowded in a pool.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3761519 tidepool sculpin Sea of Okhotsk Fish of the Bering Sea Western North American coastal fauna tidepool sculpin Taxa named by Charles Frédéric Girard