Silverspotted Sculpin

Blepsias cirrhosus

Silverspotted Sculpin

Blepsias cirrhosus

Other Common Names
Little dragon sculpin

Sandy Coast

Other Common Names

Little dragon sculpin

At the Aquarium

Sandy Coast

Appearance

Silverspotted sculpins can come in a variety of colors, including brown or green and with a reddish or yellow belly. They are named for silvery marks on their sides and fins and some cirri hanging from their face. Their dorsal fin has a very deep notch.

Habitat

Subtidal, though they can occasionally be found in tidepools.They are commonly found on rocks, cobble, eelgrass, and kelp.

Diet

Small crustaceans, fishes, and worms.

Life History

Silverspotted sculpin reproduction has been studied thoroughly in the western Pacific populations. They are a copulating species. Eggs are just 0.1 inches across and have a long incubation period of over 250 days. These fish use the purple scallop sponge as a spawning bed. The eggs are protected from predation within the sponge while also being able to obtain oxygen. The eggs are deposited into small groups of 3-15 eggs in canals where the sponge draws in oxygen-rich water. At hatching, the fish are heavily pigmented and they will settle by 0.8 inches to subtidal areas. They can reach a maximum length of 8 inches and live for 6 years.

IUCN Status

Least Concern

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

Predators of the silverspotted sculpin include fish such as rock greenlings, and birds such as terns.

Alaska to California, also in the western Pacific

You might be lucky enough to spot a silverspotted sculpin in a tidepool!

Silverspotted sculpins use sponges as spawning beds, which provides unique benefits to the fish. The eggs are safe from predators and have a continuous oxygen supply, so their parents do not need to use energy to guard the eggs. In addition, the sponge may provide antifungal and antibacterial benefits to the eggs. The skeleton of the sponge does get damaged by the laying of the eggs so it’s only a beneficial relationship for the fish.

Citations & Other Resources

Love, Milton S. Certainly more than you want to know about the fishes of the Pacific Coast: a postmodern experience. Really Big Press: Santa Barbara. 2011. 649 pp. ISBN 978-0-9628725-6-3.
Munehara, Hiroyuki. inchesUtilizatiod and Ecological Benefits of a Sponge as a Spawning Bed by the Little Dragon Sculpin Blepsias cirrhosus.inches Japanese Journal of Ichthyology 38.2 (1991): 179-184.
Munehara, Hiroyuki, Kazunori Takano, and Yasunori Koya. inchesThe little dragon sculpin Blepsias cirrhosus, another case of internal gametic association and external fertilization.inches Japanese Journal of Ichthyology 37.4 (1991): 391-394.

Silverspotted Sculpin

Silverspotted Sculpin

Other Common Names

At the Aquarium

Appearance

Habitat

Diet

Life History

IUCN Status

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

Citations & Other Resources

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