Deepwater sculpin

The deepwater sculpin is generally gray-brown with mottling on its head, back, and sides with a whitish underside.

The Deepwater sculpin lives in the demersal, freshwater, depth range - 366 m, usually 25 - m environment.

The deepwater sculpin (Myoxocephalus thompsoni) is a freshwater sculpin that inhabits the bottoms of cold, deep freshwater lakes of northern North America. Its distribution ranges from the Great Bear Lake of Canada to the Great Lakes. More

The deepwater sculpin spawns year round and is usually found in cold water - 40 degrees F. or less. It spawns during the winter in Lake Michigan and during the summer and early fall in Canada. In Lake Huron, scientists determined that hatching occurs after ice breakup. More

Features: The Deepwater Sculpin (Myoxocephalus thompsoni) lives at the bottom of cold, deep lakes where it feeds on insect larvae and other invertebrates found in the mud. Although these fish can grow to a maximum length of 25 cm, their average length is 5-7 cm. More

The deepwater sculpin lives at the bottom of deep, cold lakes such as the Great Lakes and some deep freshwater lakes in Canada. Primarily a carnivorous fish, the sculpin feeds largely on tiny crustaceans and aquatic insects. More

The deepwater sculpin (Myoxocephalus thompsoni) can be found in the Great Lakes. In the last several decades, this species has been slowly disappearing as it is very susceptible to toxin. In Lake Ontario, it was last seen in 1972. More

The largest of New York's sculpins, the deepwater sculpin can grow to be nine inches in length, although the average is two to five inches. This fish has a long, tapered body, a blunt snout and a flat head. More

Separating the deepwater sculpin from other freshwater sculpin species involves an inspection of gill morphology and counts of head spines and fin rays. More

Like the spoonhead, the deepwater sculpin has no scales, but has prickles on top. It is generally grey-brown in color with a lighter underside. The back and sides are speckled and there are thin, dark saddle-like marks on the back. More

The key characteristic to identify the deepwater sculpin is the spines on the gill cover, (preopercular spines). There are 4 preopercular spines in all. The upper two are large and slender, appearing as one enlarged bifurcated spine pointing upward and posteriorly. More

The Deepwater Sculpin (Great Lakes-Western St. Lawrence) = Within the Great Lakes-Western St. Lawrence designatable unit, this species has been identified as Special Concern by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). More

Conservation genetics of deepwater sculpin in the Great Lakes Tom Sheldon1, Nick Mandrak2, Chris Wilson3, Nathan Lovejoy1,4 1Dept. More

recovery phase of the deepwater sculpin population at four of the transects but did not significantly change for either species at the other three transects during this time. More

"The reappearance of deepwater sculpin is one of many recent signs that a general recovery of Lake Ontario's native fish community is under way," said Mr. Robert O'Gorman, head of the USGS Lake Ontario Biological Station in Oswego, NY. More

ricei) and deepwater sculpin (Myoxocephalus thompsoni) live in the depths of the Great Lakes and might be present in Lake Erie. They are extirpated species in Pennsylvania. More

When alewives move into a lake, the deepwater sculpin population suffers. Alewives likely caused both the disappearance of deepwater sculpins from Lake Ontario during the 1950s and the very low abundance of deepwater sculpins in Lake Michigan during the 1960s. More

deepwater sculpin, a species once abundant in Lake Ontario, had been seen in the U.S. waters of the lake in more than 50 years. More

100 mm), bloater, deepwater sculpin, and slimy sculpin during October 2000 and 2001 at three sites in southeastern Lake Michigan. Lake whitefish diets (1998-2001) Lake whitefish were collected for diet analysis from Michigan waters of Lake Michigan during 1998-2001. More

1 of 10 deepwater sculpin photos in the UM collection Globe icon indicates link to a non-NOAA site. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology deepwater sculpin photo Globe icon indicates link to a non-NOAA site. More

Common names

chabot de profondeur in French (français)
Deepwater sculpin in English
深水床杜父魚 in Mandarin Chinese
深水床杜父鱼 in Mandarin Chinese

Order : Scorpaeniformes
Family : Cottidae
Genus : Myoxocephalus
Species : Myoxocephalus thompsonii
Authority : Girard, 1851