Cottus petiti

Cottus petiti
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Cottidae
Genus: Cottus
Species:
C. petiti
Binomial name
Cottus petiti

Cottus petiti, also called the chabot du Lez in French, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins.[1] It is endemic to France, found only in a small 3 km stretch of the river Lez in Southern France near Montpellier.[1] The natural habitat is fed by karstic springs which may have enabled the isolated survival of the population through geological history. Now the species may be threatened by habitat loss. The males of this species are typically 56 mm in length. This species was confirmed as a separate species from the European bullhead (C. gobio) in 2005 by Jörg Freyhof, Maurice Kottelat and Arne W. Nolte.[2] The specific name honours the zoologist and anatomist Georges Petit (zoologie) [fr] of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle.[3]

It is part of the Cottus gobio complex, and genetically very close to C. gobio.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d Crivelli, A.J. (2006). "Cottus petiti". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2006: e.T5447A11150840. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2006.RLTS.T5447A11150840.en. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. ^ Jörg Freyhof; Maurice Kottelat; and Arne Nolte (2005). "Taxonomic diversity of European Cottus with description of eight new species (Teleostei: Cottidae)". Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters. 16: 107–172.
  3. ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (22 October 2022). "Order Perciformes: Suborder Cottoidea: Infraorder Cottales: Family Cottidae (Sculpins)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 18 January 2023.