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Home/Species/ Black Sculpin

Cottus baileyi

Robins, 1961

Black Sculpin

G4Apparently Secure (G4Q) Found in 3 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105547
Element CodeAFC4E02040
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderPerciformes
FamilyCottidae
GenusCottus
Synonyms
Uranidea baileyi(Robins, 1961)
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
Status as a distinct species is debatable; possibly conspecific with the "smoky sculpin" form of C. bairdi; further taxonomic study is needed (Jenkins and Burkhead 1994).

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 Date2011-11-08
Change Date2000-02-09
Edition Date2012-04-05
Edition AuthorsJefferson, J., & G. Hammerson
Range Extent1000-5000 square km (about 400-2000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences6 - 20
Rank Reasons
Small range in the extreme upper Tennessee River drainage in western Virginia and northeastern Tennessee; currently stable; not clearly distinct from the smoky sculpin (Cottus bairdi).
Range Extent Comments
Range includes the extreme upper Clinch and Holston river systems (Tennessee River drainage) in western Virginia and just into northeastern Tennessee (Page and Burr 2011). This species has been reported from Doe Creek of the upper Watauga branch of the South Fork Holston in Tennessee, but that population apparently is C. bairdii ("smoky sculpin") (Jenkins and Burkhead 1994).
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by a fairly large number of occurrences (subpopulations), and by more than 10 locations as defined by IUCN.
Threat Impact Comments
No major threats exist at this time. Potential threats include pollution, impoundment, and other forms of habitat destruction.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This sculpin typically occurs in cool to cold (i.e., trout-water) streams and spring runs with usually clear water and moderate to high gradient, including main river channels, larger tributaries, and headwater springs; it is rare in streams more than 15 meters wide; large juveniles and adults occur in riffles and runs with gravel to boulder substrates, occasionally in well-flowing parts of pools; adults tend to be most common in shallow, swift riffles; young generally inhabit stream margins and slow runs; nests with eggs have been found under stones in shallow riffles (Jenkins and Burkhead 1994).

Reproduction

Spawns from late winter to mid-spring; most yearlings are immature (Jenkins and Burkhead 1994).
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN4
ProvinceRankNative
VirginiaS2Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
No known threats———

—

Roadless Areas (3)
Virginia (3)
AreaForestAcres
Little Wilson Creek Addition BJefferson National Forest1,725
Raccoon BranchJefferson National Forest4,388
Seng MountainJefferson National Forest6,428
References (16)
  1. Boschung, H. T., and R. L. Mayden. 2004. Fishes of Alabama. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. 960 pp.
  2. Etnier, D. A., and W. C. Starnes. 1993. The fishes of Tennessee. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, Tennessee. xiv + 681 pp.
  3. Jenkins, R. E., and N. M. Burkhead. 1994. Freshwater fishes of Virginia. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland. xxiii + 1079 pp.
  4. 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.
  5. 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
  6. Koster, W. J. 1937. The food of the sculpin (Cottidae) in central New York. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. 66:374-382.
  7. 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.
  8. Nelson, J. S. 1984. Fishes of the world. Second edition. John Wiley & Sons, New York. xv + 523 pp.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. State Natural Heritage Data Centers. 1996a. Aggregated element occurrence data from all U.S. state natural heritage programs, including the Tennessee Valley Authority, Navajo Nation and the District of Columbia. Science Division, The Nature Conservancy.
  16. Warren, M. L., Jr., B. M. Burr, S. J. Walsh, H. L. Bart, Jr., R. C. Cashner, D. A. Etnier, B. J. Freeman, B. R. Kuhajda, R. L. Mayden, H. W. Robison, S. T. Ross, and W. C. Starnes. 2000. Diversity, distribution, and conservation status of the native freshwater fishes of the southern United States. Fisheries 25(10):7-31.