Banded sculpin

Banded sculpin
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Cottidae
Genus: Cottus
Species:
C. carolinae
Binomial name
Cottus carolinae

The banded sculpin (Cottus carolinae) is a freshwater fish dwelling mostly in small to moderate sized streams in areas of swift current. Young and juvenile C. carolinae can mainly be found in pools, riffles, and other shallow habitats while adults tend to prefer deeper waters. C. carolinae primarily eats insects and insect larvae, but their large mouths enable them to eat prey nearly as large as themselves, including other sculpin.[2] To prevent predation, including by other fish, the color and pattern of the sculpin tends to match its environment. Most Cottus carolinae are mottled brown with dark vertical banding and usually reach about three inches in length. They have a broad head which rather quickly narrows into a slim body, giving them the appearance of a tadpole reaching adulthood.

Cottus carolinae has proven to be useful as a representative species for the effects of mining related impacts on fishing communities since it has been proven that their density is negatively correlated with higher metal concentrations from mining.[3] In other areas around the Cumberland Basin, as a benthic fish, the C. carolinae is in danger of increased siltation by area farming. Though the sculpin faces these threats, they are not yet on the list of endangered species.[4]

  1. ^ NatureServe (2013). "Cottus carolinae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013. IUCN: e.T202656A15362223. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T202656A15362223.en. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  2. ^ Tumlison Renn, Cline George R (2002). "Food Habits of the Banded Sculpin (Cottus carolinae) in Oklahoma With Reference to Predation on the Oklahoma Salamander (Eurycea tynerensis)". Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science. 82: 111–113.
  3. ^ US Environmental Protection Agency. 2011. Effects of mining-derived metals on riffle-dwelling benthic fishes in Southeast Missouri, USA. http://hero.epa.gov/index.cfm?action=search_new.view&reference_id=447909.
  4. ^ Burr Brooks M.; Adams Ginny L.; Krejca Jean K.; Paul Regina J.; Warren Melvin L. (2001). "Troglomorphic Sculpins of the Cottus carolinae Species Group Perry County, Missouri: Distribution, External Morphology, and Conservation Status". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 62 (1–3): 279–296. doi:10.1023/A:1011819922403. S2CID 16908546.