Cottus carolinae
| Banded sculpin | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
| Family: | Cottidae |
| Genus: | Cottus |
| Species: | C. carolinae |
| Binomial name | |
|
Cottus carolinae T. N. Gill, 1861 |
|
The banded sculpin (Cottus carolinae) is a freshwater fish dwelling mostly in small to moderate sized streams in areas of swift current. Young and juvenile C. carolinae can mainly be found in pools, riffles, and other shallow habitats while adults tend to prefer deeper waters. Mating and nesting for the sculpin is in spring, with males carefully guarding the eggs until they hatch.
C. carolinae primarily eats insects and insect larvae such as Ephemeropterans, or the may fly, with little predation on other fish and crustaceans. Their large mouths enable them to eat prey nearly as large as themselves, including other sculpin.C. carolinae itself is preyed upon by larger fish, most significantly Trout. To prevent predation, the color and pattern of the sculpin tends to match its environment. Most Cottus carolinae are mottled brown with dark vertical banding and usually reach about three inches in length. They have a broad head which rather quickly narrows into a slim body, giving them the appearance of a tadpole reaching adulthood.
C. carolinae has proven to be useful as a representative species for the effects of mining related impacts on fishing communities since it has been proven that their density is negatively correlated with higher metal concentrations from mining. In other areas around the Cumberland Basin, as a benthic fish, the C. carolinae is in danger of increased siltation by area farming. Though the sculpin faces these threats, they are not yet on the list of endangered species.
Cottus carolinae is a freshwater species dwelling within the United States. The wide-ranging species occurs in eastern North America west of the Appalachians and south of the Ohio River Valley. The species lives as far south as the mountain streams of Alabama, but prefers the cooler streams of the mid to northern United States. Though they occupy such a large portion of the United States, they have a small home range of about forty-seven square meters.C. carolinae can live in streams and rivers. It is sometimes seen in caves, but such individuals generally resemble the aboveground population and may only be occasional visitors. An apparently cave-adapted individual that lacked pigmentation but had normal eye-size has been reported from a cave in West Virginia. Other better-known cave-adapted (in both pigmentation and eyes) populations from Missouri were formerly included in this species, but recognized as a separate species, the grotto sculpin (C. specus), in 2013. The banded sculpin is intolerant to habitat changes, and has experienced some limitations due to the effects of pollution. The largest pollutant threat to Cottus carolinae habitat is siltation of rivers and streams. Additionally, water impurities such as mining-derived metals in areas of Missouri have posed a high enough threat to populations that numbers have dwindled in those areas.
...
Wikipedia