Malacocottus Explained

Malacocottus is a genus of fatheads native to the northern Pacific Ocean. Malacocottus are typically occupied in the benthic zone near the bottom of the northern Pacific Ocean.^[1]

Species

There are currently 4 recognized species in this genus:

• Malacocottus aleuticus (Smith,1904)
• Malacocottus gibber Ki. Sakamoto, 1930
• Malacocottus kincaidi C. H. Gilbert & J. C. Thompson, 1905 (Blackfin sculpin)
• Malacocottus zonurus T. H. Bean, 1890 (Darkfin sculpin)

FishBase recognizes 4 species in this genus but other authorities treat M. aleuticus as a synonym of M. zonurus.

Further reading

• Glubokov . A. I. . Glubokovskii . M. K. . Kovacheva . N. P. . New Data on Soft Sculpin Malacocottus zonurus (Psychrolutidae) from the Northwestern Bering Sea . Journal of Ichthyology . 1 May 2019 . 59 . 3 . 435–438 . 10.1134/S0032945219030056 . 195773916 .
• Balanov . A. A. . Panchenko . V. V. . Sheiko . B. A. . On the Species Composition of Sculpins of the Genus Malacocottus (Psychrolutidae) in the Sea of Japan . Russian Journal of Marine Biology . 1 April 2022 . 48 . 2 . 108–112 . 10.1134/S106307402202002X . 2022RuJMB..48..108B . 248842889 .
• Book: 10.1007/978-981-16-7427-3_7 . Fish Diversity of Subarctic Waters in Japan . Fish Diversity of Japan . 2022 . Kai . Yoshiaki . 111–124 . 978-981-16-7426-6 . 246170012 .

Notes and References

1. Stevenson . Duane E. . The Validity of Nominal Species of Malacocottus (Teleostei: Cottiformes: Psychrolutidae) Known from the Eastern North Pacific with a Key to the Species . Copeia . March 2015 . 103 . 1 . 22–33 . . 10.1643/CI-14-074 . 85952531 .