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Home/Species/ Slimy Sculpin

Cottus cognatus

Richardson, 1836

Slimy Sculpin

G5Secure Found in 17 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101449
Element CodeAFC4E02080
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderPerciformes
FamilyCottidae
GenusCottus
Synonyms
Uranidea cognata(Richardson, 1836)
Other Common Names
Chabot visqueux (FR)
Concept Reference
Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
Taxonomic Comments
Includes C. philonips, C. kaganowskii, and C. chamberlaini, which formerly were regarded as distinct species (Lee et al. 1980). Hybridization with C. bairdi may contribute to morphological variation within some populations (Lyons 1990, which see for information on morphological variation in north-central U.S.). Formerly included in the order Perciformes; the 1991 AFS checklist (Robins et al. 1991) followed Nelson (1984) in recognizing the order Scorpaeniformes as distinct from the Perciformes.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2015-08-17
Change Date1996-09-06
Edition Date2012-04-05
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 to >300
Range Extent Comments
Range includes Atlantic, Arctic, and Pacific basins of Alaska and most of Canada, south to Washington, Idaho, Montana, Iowa, St. Lawrence-Great Lakes basin, and Potomac River, Virginia; also eastern Siberia. In the north-central U.S., this species occurs primarily in three areas: Lake Superior and its tributaries, Lake Michigan, and small cold streams in the "Driftless Area" of southwestern Wisconsin, northeastern Iowa, and southeastern Minnesota (upper Mississippi River basin); between Driftless Area and Great Lakes occurs only in a few small streams and two small deep lakes, Trout and Big Green (Lyons 1990).
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by a very large number of occurrences (subpopulations).
Threat Impact Comments
No major threats are known.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Typical habitats are deep oligotrophic lakes and swift rocky-bottomed streams (spring-fed streams in south). Sometimes this sculpin occurs in brackish water. It may move into lake shallows at night, into deeper water during day (often 30-100+ m deep). Eggs are laid under a rock, ledge, submerged tree root, or in similar situation in stream. Lake spawning behavior is poorly known (Becker 1983).

Reproduction

Spawning recorded in April-May. Eggs guarded by male, hatch in about a month. Generally sexually mature in 2-3 years (Becker 1983).
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
New HampshireS4Yes
MaineS4Yes
MinnesotaSNRYes
MichiganS5Yes
VermontS5Yes
MassachusettsS4Yes
WisconsinS5Yes
WashingtonS3Yes
ConnecticutS3Yes
West VirginiaS1Yes
MontanaS5Yes
New JerseyS2Yes
IllinoisS1Yes
VirginiaS2Yes
IowaS3Yes
IdahoS3Yes
IndianaS2Yes
AlaskaS5Yes
New YorkS4Yes
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
ManitobaS5Yes
LabradorS3Yes
Yukon TerritoryS5Yes
AlbertaS5Yes
New BrunswickS5Yes
Northwest TerritoriesS4Yes
Prince Edward IslandS2Yes
NunavutSUYes
OntarioS5Yes
British ColumbiaS5Yes
QuebecS5Yes
SaskatchewanS4Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
No known threats———

—

Roadless Areas (17)
Alaska (10)
AreaForestAcres
Bering LakeChugach National Forest965,076
Chugach-13Chugach National Forest13,337
Copper River WetlandsChugach National Forest85,972
Fidalgo-GravinaChugach National Forest257,968
Freshwater BayTongass National Forest44,933
Game CreekTongass National Forest54,469
Kenai LakeChugach National Forest213,172
ResurrectionChugach National Forest224,615
Roaded DonutChugach National Forest968
Sheridan GlacierChugach National Forest224,683
Minnesota (1)
AreaForestAcres
Brule Lake - Eagle MountainSuperior National Forest12,380
New Hampshire (5)
AreaForestAcres
KilkennyWhite Mountain National Forest28,766
Kinsman MountainWhite Mountain National Forest8,999
PemigewassetWhite Mountain National Forest32,255
Sandwich RangeWhite Mountain National Forest16,797
Wild RiverWhite Mountain National Forest46,878
Vermont (1)
AreaForestAcres
Bread LoafGreen Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests1,768
References (31)
  1. Becker, G. C. 1983. Fishes of Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison. 1,052 pp.
  2. Cooper, E. L. 1983. Fishes of Pennsylvania and the northeastern United States. Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park. 243 pp.
  3. Cox, Kenneth M. (District Fisheries Biologist, VT Department of Fish and Wildlife). 2000. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Anthony E. Zammit, ABI. March 2000.
  4. Daniels, Robert (Biological Survey, New York State Museum). 2000. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Anthony E. Zammit, ABI. June 2000.
  5. Fago, D. 2000. Relative abundance and distribution of fishes in Wisconsin. Fish Distribution Database to year 2000. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
  6. Halliwell, David B. (Maine Department of Environmental Protection). 2000. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Anthony E. Zammit, ABI. June 2000.
  7. Harlan, J. R., E. B. Speaker, and J. Mayhew. 1987. Iowa fish and fishing. Iowa Conservation Commission, Des Moines, Iowa. 323 pp.
  8. Hartel, Karsten E. (Dept. of Ichthyology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University). 2000. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Anthony E. Zammit, ABI. March 2000.
  9. Holton, G. D., and H. E. Johnson. 1996. A field guide to Montana fishes. 2nd edition. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Montana State Parks and wildlife Interpretive Association, Helena, Montana. 104 pp.
  10. Jenkins, R. E., and N. M. Burkhead. 1994. Freshwater fishes of Virginia. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland. xxiii + 1079 pp.
  11. Kinziger, A.P., R.M. Wood and D.A. Neely. 2005. Molecular systematics of the genus <i>Cottus</i> (Scorpaeniformes: Cottidae). Copeia 2005(2):303-311.
  12. Koster, W. J. 1936. The life history and ecology of the sculpins (Cottidae) in central New York. Ph.D. thesis, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
  13. Koster, W. J. 1937. The food of the sculpin (Cottidae) in central New York. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. 66:374-382.
  14. Lee, D. S., C. R. Gilbert, C. H. Hocutt, R. E. Jenkins, D. E. McAllister, and J. R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History, Raleigh, North Carolina. i-x + 854 pp.
  15. Lyons, J. 1990. Distribution and morphological variation of the slimy sculpin (<i>Cottus cognatus</i>) in the north central United States. Canadian Journal of Zoology 68:1037-1045.
  16. Master, L. L. and A. L. Stock. 1998. Synoptic national assessment of comparative risks to biological diversity and landscape types: species distributions. Summary Report submitted to Environmental Protection Agency. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA. 36 pp.
  17. Nelson, J. S. 1984. Fishes of the world. Second edition. John Wiley & Sons, New York. xv + 523 pp.
  18. Nelson, J. S., E. J. Crossman, H. Espinosa-Perez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, and J. D. Williams. 2004. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 29, Bethesda, Maryland. 386 pp.
  19. Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes: North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 432 pp.
  20. Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 2011. Peterson field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Second edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston. xix + 663 pp.
  21. Page, L. M., H. Espinosa-Pérez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea, N. E. Mandrak, R. L. Mayden, and J. S. Nelson. 2013. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Seventh edition. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 34, Bethesda, Maryland.
  22. Page, L. M., K. E. Bemis, T. E. Dowling, H.S. Espinosa-Pérez, L.T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, K. E. Hartel, R. N. Lea, N. E. Mandrak, M. A. Neigbors, J. J. Schmitter-Soto, and H. J. Walker, Jr. 2023. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Eighth edition. American Fisheries Society (AFS), Special Publication 37, Bethesda, Maryland, 439 pp.
  23. Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea, and W.B. Scott. 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 20. 183 pp.
  24. Rottiers, D. V. 1965. Some aspects of the life history of <i>Cottus cognatus</i> in Lake Michigan. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. M.S. Thesis. 49 pp.
  25. Scott, W. B., and E. J. Crossman. 1973. Freshwater fishes of Canada. Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Bulletin 184. 966 pp.
  26. Simpson, J. and R. Wallace. 1982. Fishes of Idaho. The University Press of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho. 238 pp.
  27. Smith, C. L. 1985. The inland fishes of New York State. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Albany, New York, xi + 522 pp.
  28. Smith, P. W. 1979. The fishes of Illinois. University of Illinois Press, Urbana. 314 pp.
  29. Stauffer, J. R., Jr., J. M. Boltz, and L. R. White. 1995. The fishes of West Virginia. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 146:1-389.
  30. Whittier, Thomas R. 2000. Review and annotation of fish watershed distribution maps. Review requested by Anthony E. Zammit, ABI. March 2000.
  31. Whitworth, W. R., P. L. Berrien, and W. T. Keller. 1976. Freshwater fishes of Connecticut. Bulletin of the Connecticut Geological and Natural History Survey 101. vi + 134 pp.