Blob sculpin

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Species of fish

title: "Blob sculpin" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["psychrolutes", "fish-described-in-1978"] description: "Species of fish" topic_path: "general/psychrolutes" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blob_sculpin" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Species of fish ::

| image = Psychrolutes phrictus 1.jpg | taxon = Psychrolutes phrictus | authority = Stein & C. E. Bond, 1978

The blob fish (Psychrolutes phrictus) or blob sculpin is a species of deep-sea fish of the family Psychrolutidae. It feeds mainly on crustaceans, molluscs, and sea pens.

It lives off the continental shelves in very deep water (839–2800 m) in the North Pacific Ocean by the coasts of Japan, the Bering Sea, and California. When the female lays eggs the adult fish guard the nest.

Description

Maximum length is 70 cm. It has 8 spines.

Distribution

The blob sculpin is native to the northeastern Pacific Ocean where it is found on or near the seabed at depths from 500 to. The bottom water temperatures in the area averaged around 2.4°C (36.3°F). For most of the egg nests observed, adult fish were keeping close vigil nearby, frequently positioned right on top of or directly touching the eggs, usually within 3 meters of the nest.

Ecology

Aggregations of blob sculpins have been observed by using a remotely operated underwater vehicle. The fish were at depths between 1300 and on the Gorda Escarpment off the coast of California. They spawn adhesive eggs onto limestone-like rocks in the deep sea, and are known to brood large pinkish eggs in nests, actually lying on the eggs or in contact with them in many instances. The collected eggs measured an impressive 40 mm in length. However, numerous eggs began hatching prematurely upon being sampled, with the emerging juvenile organisms still retaining remnants of the egg casing surrounding them. The eggs were free of sediment which makes it likely the adults were actively fanning them, the first known example of parental care in egg-laying deep sea fishes.

The diet of this fish consists mainly of such invertebrates as sea pens, crustaceans and gastropod molluscs. Other items consumed include cephalopods, crinoids, sea cucumbers and fish. Some of the species of fish are pelagic but researchers think they must have been swimming close to the seabed when consumed because the morphology of the blob sculpin is typical of a bottom dwelling fish. It is the host of skin parasites such as the copepods Chondracanthus yanezi and Neobrachiella amphipacifica.

References

References

  1. Bailly, Nicolas. (2015). "''Psychrolutes phrictus'' Stein & Bond, 1978".
  2. "''Psychrolutes phrictus'': blob sculpin". Encyclopedia of Life.
  3. Stein, D.L.. (1978). "A New Deep-sea Fish from the Eastern North Pacific, ''Psychrolutes phrictus'' (Pisces, Cottidae (Psychrolutinae))". Contributions in Science.
  4. "''Psychrolutes phrictus'' Stein & Bond, 1978". FishBase.
  5. Drazen, Jeffrey C.. (2003). "Aggregations of Egg-Brooding Deep-Sea Fish and Cephalopods on the Gorda Escarpment: a Reproductive Hot Spot". Biological Bulletin.
  6. Cole, Kathleen Sabina. (2010). "Reproduction and Sexuality in Marine Fishes: Patterns and Processes". University of California Press.

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psychrolutesfish-described-in-1978