''Icelinus''is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

es belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Cottidae The Cottidae are a family of fish in the superfamily Cottoidea, the sculpins. It is the largest sculpin family, with about 275 species in 70 genera.Kane, E. A. and T. E. Higham. (2012)Life in the flow lane: differences in pectoral fin morphology ...

, the typical sculpins. These fishes are found in the northern and eastern

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

Taxonomy

''Icelinus'' was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1885 by the American

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

David Starr Jordan David Starr Jordan (January 19, 1851 – September 19, 1931) was the founding president of Stanford University, serving from 1891 to 1913. He was an ichthyologist during his research career. Prior to serving as president of Stanford Univer ...

with its only and

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

being ''Artedius quadriseriatus''. This species had been described in 1880 by the English zoologist

William Neale Lockington William Neale Lockington (1840 in Rugby, Warwickshire, England – 1902 in Worthing, Sussex) was an English zoologist. California Lockington was the curator of the California Academy of Sciences museum in San Francisco, California ...

from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. The 5th edition of ''

Fishes of the World ''Fishes of the World'' by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011) is a standard reference for fish systematics. Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of the diversity and classification of the ...

'' classifies this genus within the subfamily

Cottinae Cottinae is a subfamily of ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpin A sculpin is a type of fish that belongs to the superfamily Cottoidea in the order Scorpaeniformes.Kane, E. A. and T. E. Higham. (2012)Life in t ...

of the family Cottidae, however, other authors classify the genus within the subfamily Oligocottinae of the family

Psychrolutidae The fish family Psychrolutidae (commonly known as blobfishes, toadfishes, flathead sculpins, tadpole sculpins,) contains over 35 recognized species in 8 genera. This family consists of bottom-dwelling marine sculpins shaped like tadpoles, with l ...

. The genus ''Icelinus'' may not be

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

as a study found that the 9 eastern Pacific species were in a

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

which was a

sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

to the genera '' Furcina'' and ''

Antipodocottus ''Antipodocottus'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. These fishes are found in the western Pacific Ocean. This is the only genus of Cottids represented in the Southern Hemisphere, altho ...

'' while the 2 northwestern Pacific species (''I. japonicus'' and ''I. pietschi'') were found to be so closely related to the genus '' Stlengis'' that they were placed within that genus, leaving ''Icelinus'' confined to the eastern Pacific.

Etymology

''Icelinus'' is a diminutive of '' Icelus'', the genus ''I. quadriseriatus'' was thought to belong to.

Species

There are currently 11 recognized species in this genus: * '' Icelinus borealis'' C. H. Gilbert, 1896 (Northern sculpin) * '' Icelinus burchami'' Evermann & Goldsborough, 1907 (Dusky sculpin) * ''

Icelinus cavifrons ''Icelinus''is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. These fishes are found in the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean. Taxonomy ''Icelinus'' was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1885 ...

'' C. H. Gilbert, 1890 (Pit-head sculpin) * '' Icelinus filamentosus'' C. H. Gilbert, 1890 (Threadfin sculpin) * ''

Icelinus fimbriatus ''Icelinus''is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. These fishes are found in the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean. Taxonomy ''Icelinus'' was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1885 ...

'' C. H. Gilbert, 1890 (Fringed sculpin) * ''

Icelinus japonicus ''Icelinus''is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the Family (biology), family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. These fishes are found in the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean. Taxonomy ''Icelinus'' was first proposed as a monospec ...

Yabe was a village located in Yame District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Yabe is located at 330m above sea level. The average temperature is 14 °C and the average annual precipitation is 2,706mm. As of 2006, the village had an estimated popula ...

, Tsumura &

Katayama is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: Entertainers *, Japanese stage actress *, Japanese film actress *, Japanese film actress and singer, former AKB48 member Politicians *, Japanese-born member of the American Communi ...

, 1980 * '' Icelinus limbaughi''

Rosenblatt Rosenblatt is a surname of German and Jewish origin, meaning "rose leaf". People with this surname include: * Albert Rosenblatt (born 1936), New York Court of Appeals judge * Dana Rosenblatt, known as "Dangerous" (born 1972), American boxer * Elie ...

& W. L. Smith, 2004 (Canyon sculpin) * '' Icelinus oculatus'' C. H. Gilbert, 1890 (Frogmouth sculpin) * '' Icelinus pietschi'' Yabe,

Soma Soma may refer to: Businesses and brands * SOMA (architects), a New York–based firm of architects * Soma (company), a company that designs eco-friendly water filtration systems * SOMA Fabrications, a builder of bicycle frames and other bicycle ...

& Amaoka, 2001 * '' Icelinus quadriseriatus'' ( Lockington, 1880) (Yellowchin sculpin) * '' Icelinus tenuis'' C. H. Gilbert, 1890 (Spotfin sculpin)

Characteristics

''Icelinus'' sculpins are characterised by having the fourth uppermost spine on the

preoperculum This glossary of ichthyology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in ichthyology, the study of fishes. A B C ...

having a number of points like the

antler Antlers are extensions of an animal's skull found in members of the Cervidae (deer) family. Antlers are a single structure composed of bone, cartilage, fibrous tissue, skin, nerves, and blood vessels. They are generally found only on male ...

of a deer. They have a single spine and 2 soft rays in the

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

and there are two rows of ctenoid scales along the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

bases. These are small fishes, the largest species in the genus is ''I. filamentosus'', which has a maximum published

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

of , while the smallest is ''I. piestchi'' which has a maximum published

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

of .

Distribution

''Icelinus'' sculpins are found in the northern and eastern Pacific Ocean. They are inshore fishes.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q142573 Cottinae Marine fish genera Taxa named by David Starr Jordan