They are relatives of scorpion fish, and common in North American waters. The sculpin can be found in both salt and fresh water, and commonly in tide pools and other shallow water, where it clings close to the bottom.
Over species can be found in the Cottidae family. Sculpins tend to be small, rarely growing over one foot 30 centimeters in length, with compressed bodies, large fanlike fins, and an intimidating array of spines along their dorsal fins. Many sculpins carry toxins in their spines, and should therefore be handled with care to prevent discomfort. Although the toxin found in sculpin spines is rarely fatal, it can cause skin irritation, sweating, nausea, or dizziness.
American mergansers also prey on them. Humans do not eat them, but some anglers use them as bait. How Do They Reproduce? Spawning takes place in cavities that males fan out beneath rocks, ledges, or logs. Males attract females through courtship displays of headshaking, headnodding, gillcover raising, and other body movements. The spawning pair turns upside down, and the female lays clusters of eggs on the underside of the rock or log.
More than one female is likely to spawn with the male. The male protects the nest, keeps it clean, and eats dead, fungus-covered eggs which are really embryos. A single female lays eggs in a season, depending on her size. Croix River, and Mississippi River upper and lower drainages. In streams they inhabit small, clear streams and large lakes that have rocky shores. They occupy both riffle and pools over sand, gravel, boulders, or limestone. Mottled sculpins favor clear water with some form of shelter for example boulders or vegetation to use as hiding spots.
Common associates of mottled sculpins include white suckers , creek chubs , brook sticklebacks , and pearl dace, to name a few. What Do They Eat? Since this fish is commonly a benthic bottom dweller , they eat things that are found on the bottom. Diets vary from streams to lakes. In streams, aquatic insect larvae and sideswimmers are more common. In lakes, copepods, waterfleas, leeches, and algae are added. Deepwater sculpin are grayish brown with a slightly lighter belly.
The back and sides are speckled with thin oval-shaped marks. Deepwater sculpin are found in the deep, cool lakes of northern North America. They were once abundant in the Great Lakes and most deep lakes of Canada especially Nipigon in Ontario, Great Slave in Manitoba, Waterton in Alberta, and Great Bear in the Northwest Territories , but the range of deepwater sculpin is rapidly shrinking. Currently, deepwater sculpin are plentiful in lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior, and rare in Ontario and Erie.
Despite their deepwater habitat requirements, they are also sometimes found in the inland waterways that connect the Great Lakes, such as the St. Claire River. During their first year of life, deepwater sculpin are found in the open water feeding on plankton and small invertebrates.
As they age their body shape and physiology changes and they become bottom-dwelling fish. Adult deepwater sculpin are generally found in waters deeper than 20 meters and are especially abundant between 70 and 90 meters deep. In Lake Superior they have been found at depths of meters. The largest deepwater sculpin individuals are found in the deepest waters. Deepwater sculpin live only in cold water, 40 degrees Celsius or less. There isn't much known about development in deepwater sculpin because they are difficult to study.
Deepwater sculpin undergo changes from egg to open-water larvae to bottom-dwelling juvenile young within their first year of life. This first year is a time of rapid growth in length, after which the growth in length slows and deepwater sculpin grow both in length and weight. Because it is so difficult to study deepwater sculpin, little is known about their mating systems. Deepwater sculpin can begin to reproduce when they reach 3 years old. It is thought that they breed throughout the year, with breeding in late fall and winter in the Great Lakes and in summer and early fall in Canadian lakes.
Females lay an average of eggs each time they breed, with the largest females laying the most eggs. In the Great Lakes the eggs hatch at the same time that the ice on the lakes begins to break up. Like other sculpin species, male deepwater sculpin build nests and guard the eggs. Fish ages are determined by counting the "rings" on bones in their ears otoliths. Like tree rings, these rings represent years of growth.
According to data collected in the summer of , deepwater sculpin in the Great Lakes live as long as seven years. These fish live in cold, deep waters and very little is known about their behavior.
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