New Critter For Me - Spinyhead Sculpin
Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2012 10:28 am
I spotted this guy in about 20fsw on an evening dive at Three Tree North. I immediately knew that I had never seen this guy before, and that it was an uncommon species as far as diver observation for where I was diving.
When I got home I went straight for my Id books (a couple of which are mysteriously "missing", hmmm...) and it seems that this is a Spinyhead Sculpin, Dasycottus settiger if my eyes do not deceive me or if there is not newer info in one of the newer books that have been published.
Lamb & Hanby in Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest have this description - "A denizen of soft bottoms, this inconspicuous species is one of many creatures politely referred to as by-catch by commercial shrimp trawlers. Night divers venturing into silty situations are the only other folks likely to encounter its well camouflaged form."
Lamb & Edgell in Coastal Fishes of the PNW add this - "This species has bristles or cirri on its head and the larger the specimen the more cirri and the more bristly the appearance."
Both books say that the upper range for the size of these guys is "9 inches long". This one was about that long - he was NOT tiny! He was definitely not camera shy - here are the other shots i got of him, all of which show the bristly "stubble" cirri and the very cool spikes on his head, as well as the "blue" eye and the surrounding pattern.
When I got home I went straight for my Id books (a couple of which are mysteriously "missing", hmmm...) and it seems that this is a Spinyhead Sculpin, Dasycottus settiger if my eyes do not deceive me or if there is not newer info in one of the newer books that have been published.
Lamb & Hanby in Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest have this description - "A denizen of soft bottoms, this inconspicuous species is one of many creatures politely referred to as by-catch by commercial shrimp trawlers. Night divers venturing into silty situations are the only other folks likely to encounter its well camouflaged form."
Lamb & Edgell in Coastal Fishes of the PNW add this - "This species has bristles or cirri on its head and the larger the specimen the more cirri and the more bristly the appearance."
Both books say that the upper range for the size of these guys is "9 inches long". This one was about that long - he was NOT tiny! He was definitely not camera shy - here are the other shots i got of him, all of which show the bristly "stubble" cirri and the very cool spikes on his head, as well as the "blue" eye and the surrounding pattern.
