Chordates • Earth.com

Clinocottus analis

(Clinocottus analis)

Description

Clinocottus analis is a species of fish in the family Cottidae, one of the families of sculpins. It is known commonly as the woolly sculpin in English and the charrasco lanudo in Spanish. It is native to the eastern Pacific Ocean, where it occurs along the coastline of California and Baja California. This fish reaches up to 18 centimeters in length. This species lives on the seabed of intertidal waters up to 18 meters deep. It is commonly found in tide pools amidst algaes, but it leaves the tide pool area at will. It can breathe air and has been known to survive out of water for up to 24 hours. The diet of this species includes mainly crustaceans, especially amphipods, as well as fish eggs and larvae, polychaetes, and molluscs. Most of its food items are light-colored or clear, suggesting that these are easiest for the fish to see against the dark background of its habitat. This fish has green blood plasma, the color caused by biliverdin tightly bound in protein complexes.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum:
Class: Actinopterygii
Order:Scorpaeniformes
Family:Cottidae
Genus:Clinocottus
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