The longhorn sculpin (''Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus'') is a species of marine

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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

sculpin A sculpin is a type of fish that belongs to the superfamily Cottoidea in the order Perciformes.Kane, E. A. and T. E. Higham. (2012)Life in the flow lane: differences in pectoral fin morphology suggest transitions in station-holding demand acros ...

s.This species is found in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. It is a predatory and

scavenging Scavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a herbivorous feeding be ...

fish that can feed on the remains of other organisms.

Taxonomy

The longhorn sculpin was first formally described as ''Cottus 18-spinosus'' in 1814 by the American

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

Samuel L. Mitchill with its type locality given as

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The

ICZN The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its formal author, t ...

required that the specific name be changed to ''octodecemspinosus''. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''octodecemspinosus'', means "18 spined", an allusion to the number of spines on the head (which is actually 20).

Appearance

The longhorn sculpin varies in color with its surroundings. It has four tinted bands on the back of its body, which range from dark brown to tinted yellow and dark olive in color. When the fish is resting on sand or dirt, it is plain in color, but when resting on pebbles, it is variably marked in order to blend in with its surroundings in both scenarios. The dorsal spines and head spines on the fish are very sharp, and one must be careful if they are to handle it. It has two variably marked dorsal fins, along with two pectorals and an anal fin.Warfel and Merriman (Copeia, 1944, p. 198)Cox, Contrib. Canadian Biol. (1918-1920) 1921, p. 111; Leim, Proc. Nova Scotian Inst. Sci., vol. 20, 1940, p. 40.

Occurrence

The range extends from

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

and the

Gulf of Saint Lawrence The Gulf of St. Lawrence is a gulf that fringes the shores of the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, in Canada, plus the islands Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, possessions of France, in ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. It is a

demersal The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer o ...

species that lives in shallow coastal waters, moving to deeper water in winter. It is commonly found at depths of 50 fathoms deep, but can be found as deep as 105 fathoms.

References

External links

Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus (Longhorn Sculpin)
at th
Encyclopedia of Life
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2073666 octodecemspinosus Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Fish described in 1814 Taxa named by Samuel L. Mitchill