Fourspine sculpin | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Scorpaeniformes |
Family: | Cottidae |
Genus: | Cottus |
Species: | C. kazika
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Binomial name | |
Cottus kazika
D. S. Jordan and
Starks, 1904
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Synonyms | |
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The fourspine sculpin (Cottus kazika) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is endemic to Japan. It reaches a maximum length of 30.0 cm (11.8 in). [2]
The fourspine sculpin was first formally described in 1904 by the American ichthyologists David Starr Jordan and Edwin Chapin Starks with its type locality given as Niigata in Japan. [3] This species is placed in the monospecific genus Rheopresbe by some authorities, as molecular analyses indicated that this species was a sister taxon to Trachidermus fasciatus, another catadromous Japanese sculpin. [4] The specific name kazika is a Japanese word for river sculpins. [5]