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Sculpin help, please


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#1 mattknepley

mattknepley
  • NANFA Member
  • Smack-dab between the Savannah and the Saluda.

Posted 14 August 2016 - 08:08 PM

Black River, Montmorency Co., Michigan

I finally gave up trying to id these guys, and then we got a spiffy-new, much bigger monitor for the 'puter and have been torturing myself all over again.

All pics are of the same two sculpins. I am pretty sure the lighter one is a Slimy, Cottus cognatus. The darker one could be another Slimy, but I'm thinking Banded, C. bairdii.

The smoking gun for the lighter one's id is a pic that clearly shows three well-formed pelvic fin ray, and one rather puny one. Enlarge the pic on your monitor and it is a very easy count to make.
Attached File  DSCN1161.JPG   146.54KB   1 downloads

The only other half-decent pelvic fin pic. Unless of course it's the inside of the other pectoral fin...
Attached File  DSCN1189.JPG   158.56KB   1 downloads

Lateral line and dorsal fin pics.
Attached File  DSCN1165.JPG   137.61KB   1 downloads
Attached File  DSCN1191.JPG   154.45KB   1 downloads
Attached File  DSCN1192.JPG   112.32KB   1 downloads

I have plenty of other pics, many of which are downright infocus, if there is something else that would help. Headshapes, etc?

Any chance we can nail one or both of these down before the genus name gets changed? ;)
Matt Knepley
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."

#2 Matt DeLaVega

Matt DeLaVega
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Posted 14 August 2016 - 09:45 PM

You meant mottled, not banded. The larger lighter one looks like a mottled(C. bairdii) to me. The other? They can vary a great bit though. May both be slimy. Good luck with those.


The member formerly known as Skipjack


#3 Matt DeLaVega

Matt DeLaVega
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  • Ohio

Posted 14 August 2016 - 10:18 PM

Both bairdii and carolinae are in Kentucky and there seems to be no real dividing line that I know of. It has been very difficult to get the hang of them for me.


The member formerly known as Skipjack


#4 mattknepley

mattknepley
  • NANFA Member
  • Smack-dab between the Savannah and the Saluda.

Posted 14 August 2016 - 10:58 PM

You meant mottled, not banded. The larger lighter one looks like a mottled(C. bairdii) to me. The other? They can vary a great bit though. May both be slimy. Good luck with those.


Good catch, Matt. Thanks.
Matt Knepley
"No thanks, a third of a gopher would merely arouse my appetite..."




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