sculpin

scul·pin

S0176900 (skŭl′pĭn)n. pl. scul·pins or sculpin 1. Any of various marine and freshwater fishes chiefly of the family Cottidae, having a large flattened head with spines, few or no scales, and often fanlike pectoral fins.2. A scorpionfish (Scorpaena guttata) of California coastal waters.

[Origin unknown.]

sculpin

(ˈskʌlpɪn) n, pl -pin or -pins (Animals) US and Canadian any of various fishes of the family Cottidae (bullheads and sea scorpions). Also spelled: skulpin [C17: of unknown origin]

scul•pin

(ˈskʌl pɪn)

n., pl. (esp. collectively) -pin, (esp. for kinds or species) -pins. 1. any fish of the mostly marine family Cottidae, having a large head with spines on each side. 2. (in California) a common scorpionfish, Scorpaena guttata. [1665–75; orig. uncertain]

Thesaurus

Noun

sculpin - any of numerous spiny large-headed usually scaleless scorpaenoid fishes with broad mouthsscorpaenoid, scorpaenoid fish - fishes having the head armored with bony platesCottidae, family Cottidae - sculpinsbullhead - freshwater sculpin with a large flattened bony-plated head with hornlike spinesmiller's-thumb - small freshwater sculpin of Europe and North AmericaHemitripterus americanus, sea raven - large sculpin of western Atlantic; inflates itself when caughtgrubby, Myxocephalus aenaeus - small sculpin of the coast of New England

sculpin

sculpin,

common name for a member of the superfamily Cottoidea, bizarre fishes with large, spiny or armored heads and short, tapering bodies, found in both marine and freshwater habitats. The sculpins include species known as muddlers (i.e., the mottled sculpin) and some species called bullheads (i.e., the deepwater bullhead sculpins). Sculpins are cosmopolitan in arctic and northern waters. They feed at the bottom on crabs and small fishes. Of little food value, they are occasionally used as bait. The longhorn sculpin (1 ft/30 cm) and the shorthorn sculpin have sharp spines on the head. Sculpins have no scales, but are variously adorned with prickles on the head and fins. The sea raven has large teeth and a prickly skin and swells when caught. The cabezon of the Pacific reaches a weight of 25 lb (11.3 kg). The muddlers are a widespread freshwater group found in northeastern and Mississippi basin streams with gravel bottoms. They have huge pectoral fins shaped like butterfly wings with which they hang onto stones. The fatheads, or fathead sculpins, include the blobfish, a deep-sea fish found off Australia and New Zealand, whose large head and pink gelatinous flesh can assume a sad humanlike appearance out of water. The grotesque sea robins and flying gurnards, with fins modified into "wings" and "talons" for creeping on the ocean floor, resemble the sculpins but belong to families not classified in the superfamily Cottoidea. Sculpins are classified in the phylum ChordataChordata
, phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate animals.
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Actinopterygii, order Scorpaeniformes.

sculpin

[′skəl·pən] (vertebrate zoology) Any of several species of small fishes in the family Cottidae characterized by a large head that sometimes has spines, spiny fins, broad mouth, and smooth, scaleless skin.

sculpin

scul·pin

sculpin

scul•pin

sculpin

sculpin,

sculpin

sculpin

Words related to sculpin

noun any of numerous spiny large-headed usually scaleless scorpaenoid fishes with broad mouths

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