An Albino Sculpin from a Cave in the New River Drainage of 

 West Virginia (Pisces: Cottidae) 



James D. Williams 



Office of Endangered Species, 

 U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D. C. 20240 



AND 



William M. Howell 



Department of Biology, Samford University, 

 Birmingham, Alabama 35209 



ABSTRACT. — An albino Banded sculpin, Cottus carolinae, with atypical 

 morphological features, is reported from Buckeye Creek Cave, Green- 

 brier County, West Virginia. This is the first report of albinism in the 

 genus. One atypical feature of the specimen is presence of a frenum, a 

 structure unknown in any member of the family Cottidae. Other 

 atypical features include enlargement of the cephalic canal pores and fu- 

 sion of the postmandibular pores, and dorsal spine and pelvic fin ray 

 counts that are unusual for a member of the C. carolinae species group. 

 The atypical features are described and compared with those of nor- 

 mally pigmented C. carolinae, which also occur in the cave. 



INTRODUCTION 



A male albino Banded sculpin (Fig. 1), 67 mm standard length (SL), 

 was collected in Buckeye Creek Cave by J. A. Stellmack on 3 September 

 1967. We are reporting this specimen as the first record of albinism in the 

 genus Cottus, family Cottidae. It is somewhat surprising that this condi- 

 tion has not previously been reported for sculpins considering their fre- 

 quent occurrence in subterranean waters. The specimen is of particular 

 interest since it has several atypical morphological features in addition to 

 the albinistic condition. 



Buckeye Creek Cave is located approximately 4 km southwest of Ren- 

 ick, Greenbrier County, West Virginia. The entrance to the cave is in a 

 shallow limestone sink in a hillside alongside a pasture. A small stream 1 

 to 2 m wide which flows into the cave appears to be a tributuary of Spring 

 creek, Greenbrier River drainage. This drainage is developed on lime- 

 stone and has many subterranean streams. The albino sculpin was col- 

 lected in the aphotic zone of the cave, approximately 200 m from the en- 

 trance. It was sighted and taken in an open area in clear water approx- 

 imately 15 cm deep over a gravel bottom. At the time of capture the body 



Brimleyana No. 1: 141-146. March 1979. 141 



