Cottus (fish)

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Genus of fishes

title: "Cottus (fish)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["cottus-(fish)", "cottinae", "animal-taxa-named-by-carl-linnaeus", "freshwater-fish-genera"] description: "Genus of fishes" topic_path: "general/cottus-fish" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottus_(fish)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of fishes ::

| fossil_range = | image = Cottus cognatus.jpg | image_caption = Cottus cognatus | taxon = Cottus | authority = Linnaeus, 1758 | type_species = Cottus gobio | type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1758 | synonyms = {{Genus list | Uranoscopus | Gronow, 1763 | Pegedictis | Rafinesque, 1820 | Uranidea | DeKay, 1842 | Centridermichthys | Richardson, 1845 | Cottopsis | Girard, 1850 | Potamocottus | Gill, 1861 | Tauridea | Jordan & Rice, 1878 | Rheopresbe | Jordan & Starks, 1904 | Cephalocottus | Gratzianov, 1907

Cottus is a genus of the mainly freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. They are often referred to as the "freshwater sculpins", as they are the principal genus of sculpins to be found in fresh water. They are native to the Palearctic and Nearctic.

They are small fish, mostly less than 15 cm in length, although a few species can reach twice that size.

Taxonomy

Cottus was first proposed as a genus by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of the Systema Naturae when he described the European bullhead (Cottus gobio) and in 1850 this species was designated as the type species of the genus by the French ichthyologist Charles Frédéric Girard. The 5th edition of the Fishes of the World classifies this genus within the subfamily Cottinae of the family Cottidae. Other authorities have found that the Cottidae, as delimited in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World, is paraphyletic and that the monophyletic grouping is the freshwater sculpins, including the Baikal sculpins, while most of the marine taxa are classified within the family Psychrolutidae. Cottus kazika has been found to be outside of a monophyletic Cottus and has been classified in the monospecific genus Rheopresbe.

The earliest fossil remains of the genus are of †Cottus calcatus from the latest Miocene or early Pliocene of Oregon, US. The species †Cottus cervicornis Storms, 1894 is known from the Early Oligocene of Belgium, but its taxonomic identity is uncertain.

Species

There are currently around 70 recognized species in this genus:

The fossil species †Cottus calcatus Kimmel, 1975 is known from the late Miocene/early Pliocene-aged Deer Butte Formation of Oregon.

Etymology

Cottus is derived from the Greek kottos, and is a latinisation that word, the original form of it being koviós or kóthos. This is likely to mean "head" and is the word for a small fish with a large head, and is now used for sculpins.

References

References

  1. {{FishBase genus. (2017)
  2. {{Cof family
  3. (2016). "Fishes of the World". Wiley.
  4. (2014). "Phylogeny and taxonomy of sculpins, sandfishes, and snailfishes (Perciformes: Cottoidei) with comments on the phylogenetic significance of their early-life-history specializations". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
  5. (2005). "Molecular systematics of the genus ''Cottus'' (Scorpaeniformes: Cottidae)". Copeia.
  6. Nazarkin, M. V.. (2017-01-01). "A new horned sculpin (Pisces: Cottidae) from the Miocene of Sakhalin Island, Russia". Paleontological Journal.
  7. {{Cof genus|genus=Cottus|access-date=19 January 2023}}
  8. (2022). "A new species of the genus ''Cottus'' (Scorpaeniformes, Cottidae) from the Baltic Sea Basin and its phylogenetic placement". European Journal of Taxonomy.
  9. (2015). "A new species of ''Cottus'' from the Onega River drainage, White Sea basin (Actinopterygii: Scorpaeniformes: Cottidae)". Zootaxa.
  10. (2015). "Redescription of ''Cottus koshewnikowi'' (Cottidae) and its Morphological Variability in Tributaries of the Upper Volga". Journal of Ichthyology.
  11. (2022). "Cryptic species of freshwater sculpin (Cottidae: Cottus) in California, USA". Zootaxa.
  12. (2010). "''Cottus immaculatus'', a new species of sculpin (Cottidae) from the Ozark Highlands of Arkansas and Missouri, USA". Zootaxa.
  13. (2013). "''Cottus specus'', a new troglomorphic species of sculpin (Cottidae) from southeastern Missouri". Zootaxa.
  14. Sideleva, V.G. & Goto, A. (2012): A New Species of Sculpin ''Cottus kolymensis'' sp. nova (Scorpaeniformes, Cottidae) from Rivers of Kolyma. ''Journal of Ichthyology, 52 (5): 301–307.''
  15. (2014). "''Cottus schitsuumsh'', a new species of sculpin (Scorpaeniformes: Cottidae) in the Columbia River basin, Idaho-Montana, USA". Zootaxa.
  16. (1975). "Fishes of the Pliocene Glenns Ferry Formation, Southwest Idaho; Fishes of the Miocene - Pliocene Deer Butte Formation, Southeast Oregon Claude W. Hibbard Memorial Volume V". Papers on Paleontology.
  17. (22 October 2022). "Order Perciformes: Suborder Cottoidea: Infraorder Cottales: Family Cottidae (Sculpins)". Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara.

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cottus-(fish)cottinaeanimal-taxa-named-by-carl-linnaeusfreshwater-fish-genera