Roadless Areas
Home/Species/ Potomac Sculpin

Cottus girardi

Robins, 1961

Potomac Sculpin

G4Apparently Secure Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105016
Element CodeAFC4E02120
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderPerciformes
FamilyCottidae
GenusCottus
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
Formerly regarded as conspecific with C. bairdii (Lee et al. 1980). 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 Date2011-11-09
Change Date1996-09-06
Edition Date2011-11-09
Edition AuthorsHammerson, G.
Range Extent20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences21 - 80
Range Extent Comments
Range includes mountain and Piedmont streams in upper Piedmont of Potomac drainage, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania; known in James River drainage, Virginia, only from Cowpasture River system since 1958.
Occurrences Comments
This species is represented by a fairly large number of occurrences (subpopulations).
Threat Impact Comments
No major threats are known.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Habitat includes rocky runs and pools of cold to warm, usually clear, creeks and small to medium rivers with varied stony substrate generally lacking heavy siltation; individuals are often near vegetation; juveniles are most common in areas with little or no current (Lee et al. 1980, Page and Burr 2011).

Reproduction

Apparently spawns late winter or early spring. Young first found in May.
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN4
ProvinceRankNative
MarylandS4Yes
VirginiaS3Yes
PennsylvaniaS4Yes
West VirginiaS4Yes
Roadless Areas (2)
Virginia (2)
AreaForestAcres
Beards MountainGeorge Washington National Forest7,505
Mill MountainGeorge Washington National Forest10,840
References (13)
  1. Cooper, E. L. 1983. Fishes of Pennsylvania and the northeastern United States. Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park. 243 pp.
  2. Jenkins, R. E., and N. M. Burkhead. 1994. Freshwater fishes of Virginia. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland. xxiii + 1079 pp.
  3. 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
  4. Koster, W. J. 1937. The food of the sculpin (Cottidae) in central New York. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. 66:374-382.
  5. 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.
  6. Nelson, J. S. 1984. Fishes of the world. Second edition. John Wiley & Sons, New York. xv + 523 pp.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.