Icelinus borealis, or the northern sculpin or comb sculpin, is a species of fish in the family Cottidae. It can be found in the northeastern Pacific Ocean along the western coast of North America.[2]
| Icelinus borealis | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Cottidae |
| Genus: | Icelinus |
| Species: | I. borealis
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| Binomial name | |
| Icelinus borealis Gilbert, 1896
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| Synonyms[1] | |
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Taxonomy
editIcelinus borealis was first formally described in 1896 by the American ichthyologist Charles Henry Gilbert with its type locality given as north and south of the Aleutians and from Bristol Bay in Alaska.[1] The specific name borealis means "northern" and is a reference to the description of this species based on a type locality of Alaska.[3]
Description
editIcelinus borealis has a very small antler-like uppermost spine on the preoperculum.[4] There are 9 or 10 spines and between 15 and 17 soft rays supporting the dorsal fins, while the anal fin has between 12 and 14 soft rays. The caudal fin is clearly rounded and the pelvic fins are small and often curved. The overall color is dark olive gray or brown on the upper body, paler below. There are dark saddle marks, typically four, across the body and thin dark brown bars on the head and the fins except for the anal fin. In males the margin of the has black spots. This species has a maximum published standard length of 10.2 cm (4.0 in).[2]
Distribution and habitat
editIcelinus borealis is found in the temperate eastern Pacific Ocean from the Bering Sea coast of Alaska south as far as Puget Sound, in Washington. It is a demersal fish found at depths between 9 and 310 m (30 and 1,017 ft) on soft or shell substrates.[2]
Biology
editIcelinus borealis feeds on crustaceans, especially shrimp.[2] This species is common in waters near to rookeries of Steller's sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) and so constitute part of the diverse prey hunted by that mammal.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Icelinus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
- ^ a b c d Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Icelinus borealis". FishBase. August 2023 version.
- ^ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara, eds. (22 October 2022). "Order Perciformes: Suborder Cottoidea: Infraorder Cottales: Family Cottidae (Sculpins)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
- ^ "Northern Sculpin Pictures - images of Icelinus borealis". The Elasmodiver Shark and Ray Field Guide. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
- ^ Rachael L. Cartwright (2008). "Description of early life history stages of the northern sculpin (Icelinus borealis Gilbert) (Teleostei: Cottidae)" (PDF). Fisheries Bulletin. 107: 175–185.