314 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



THE SCULPINS. FAMILY COTTID^ 



The several sculpins known from the Gulf of Maine are a homogeneous group 



characterized by large spiny heads, very wide gill openings, enormous mouths, 



slender tapering bodies, separate spiny and soft-rayed dorsal fins (except in rare 



species), large fanlike pectorals but small caudals, and ventrals reduced to three 



long rays. All of them, too, have a fashion of spreading the gill covers and flattening 



the head when taken in the hand. They likewise produce grunting sounds, and 



some sculpins have the power of inflating themselves with air when molested. 



The only other Gulf of Maine fishes that at all resemble them in general form are the 



sea robin (p. 345), toadfish (p. 357), and angler. However, the entire head of a 



"robin" is armed with bony plates, quite different from the soft-skinned head of a 



sculpin; in the toadfish the soft portion of the dorsal fin is many times as long as 



the spiny part, at most twice as long in a sculpin; and not only are the fins of the 



angler very small and weak as compared with the present family, but its lower jaw 



projects far beyond the upper and its mouth is full of very large pointed teeth, 



whereas in the sculpins the teeth are small and the jaws are of approximately 



equal length. 



KEY TO GULF OF MAINE SCULPINS 



1. There are two separate dorsal fins 2 



There is only one dorsal fin, the spiny and soft parts being united. Deep-sea sculpin, p. 329 



2. The first dorsal fin is deeply notched between the spines; the lower jaw and the top of 



the head are adorned with fleshy tags Sea raven, p. 330 



The first dorsal is not deeply notched between the spines; no fleshy tags about the 

 head 3 



3. The long spine on each cheek is branched at the tip Staghorn sculpin, p. 328 



These spines are simple, not branched 4 



4. The anal fin is long (25 rays); there is a series of bony plates along the sides 



Mailed sculpin, p. 316 



The anal fin is short (14 rays or less); there are no bony plates on the sides 5 



5. The long spine on the cheek is hooked upward Hook-eared sculpin, p. 314 



This spine is straight, not hooked 6 



6. The longest (uppermost) cheek spine is four times as long as the one below it, reaching 



back to the margin of the gill cover; all head spines are very sharp. Longhorn sculpin, p. 325 

 The uppermost cheek spine is not more than twice as long as the one below it, nor reach- 

 ing more than about halfway to the margin of the gill cover; head spines are blunter.. 7 



7. The first dorsal fin is decidedly higher than the second; small fish (not over 8 inches 



long) Grubby, p. 318 



First and second dorsal fins are about equal in height Shorthorn sculpin, p. 320 



US. Hook-eared sculpin (Artedicllus atlanticus Jordan and Evermann) 



Arctic sculpin 



Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 1906. 



Description. — The most distinctive feature of this species among local sculpins 

 is the long hooklike spine on the cheek, pointing backward and upward, plainly 

 shown in the illustration (fig. 149). There is also a short backward-pointing spine 

 covered by a flap of skin at the upper corner of the gill cover, two short spines on 



