Myoxocephalus
Myoxocephalus is a group of fishes known as sculpins. They belong to the family Cottidae and live in the northern Pacific, Arctic, and Atlantic Oceans, with a few species found in lakes. The group goes back to the Middle Miocene in the fossil record.
There are about 14 living species in Myoxocephalus. Taxonomy has been debated, and in 2020 a DNA study suggested that the fourhorn sculpin might belong in a different genus, Megalocottus.
Description: Myoxocephalus sculpins usually have no scales above the lateral line; their bodies may be naked or covered with small bony plates. The head is large and thick-skinned, with thin sensory canals. The upper jaw projects beyond the lower jaw, and there are vomerine teeth but no palatine teeth. The upper spine on the gill cover is long and angled upward. There is a small gap behind the fourth gill arch, which may be just a pore. The spiny dorsal fin is similar in size to the soft dorsal fin and they are connected. In males, the pelvic fins don’t reach the anus. The soft rays of the dorsal, anal, and pectoral fins are simple. They can be large, with the great sculpin reaching up to about 80 cm, and the grubby about 18 cm.
Habitat and habits: They live along coasts and on the continental shelf, on sand, mud, or rocks. Many tolerate low salinity and some can be found in lakes. They are predators, feeding on other fish and bottom invertebrates.
Reproduction: They spawn in winter and spring, laying demersal eggs on the bottom, with males guarding the eggs.
Fossils: Fossil and indeterminate remains are known, including Middle Miocene finds from Sakhalin, Russia.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 19:08 (CET).