Montagu's sea snail
Liparis montagui (Donovan, 1804)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Liparis montagui, or Montagu's seasnail, is a marine fish of the seasnail family (Liparidae). It inhabits the northeastern Atlantic, mainly around the British Isles, the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea, southern Iceland and as far north as the Barents Sea. It is a small (maximum 12 cm), demersal fish, usually living between from the intertidal zone to 30 metres deep, where it hides under stones or algae. It mainly feeds on small invertebrates, such as small crabs, shrimp and amphipods. This species was described in 1804 by the Anglo-Irish writer, natural history illustrator, and amateur zoologist Edward Donovan with England given as the type locality. The specific name honours the English naturalist George Montagu who provided Donovan with an illustration and a description of this "beautiful little fish".
Wikipedia contributors, Liparis montagui; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:31:51.723971+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Liparis montagui (Donovan, 1804)
- Name authority
- (Donovan, 1804)
- Common name
- Montagu's sea snail
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Liparidae
- Genus
- Liparis
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderPerciformes
- suborderCottoidei
- familyLiparidae Gill, 1861
- genusLiparis Scopoli, 1777
- speciesLiparis montagui (Donovan, 1804)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Liparis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Liparis barbatus Ekström, 1833 | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| nebulous snailfishLiparis bathyarcticus Parr, 1931 | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Liparis bikunin Matsubara & Iwai, 1954 | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Brazhnikov's snailfishLiparis brashnikovi Soldatov, 1930 | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Liparis chefuensis Wu & Wang, 1933 | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Kuril sea snailLiparis curilensis (Gilbert & Burke, 1912) | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| gelatinous seasnailLiparis fabricii Krøyer, 1847 | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Liparis fishelsoni Smith, 1967 | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| tidepool snailfishLiparis florae (Jordan & Starks, 1895) | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| lobefin snailfishLiparis greeni (Jordan & Starks, 1895) | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| inquiline snailfishLiparis inquilinus Able, 1973 | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Striped sea snailLiparis latifrons Schmidt, 1950 | LiparidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Cyclopterus montagui Donovan, 1804 Donovan, 1804 | synonym |
| Liparis ekstromii Malm, 1865 Malm, 1865 | synonym |
| Liparis maculatus Malm, 1865 Malm, 1865 | ambiguous synonym |
| Cyclopterus gobius Nilsson, 1832 Nilsson, 1832 | synonym |
| Liparis montagui annulatus Collett, 1879 Collett, 1879 | synonym |
| Liparis montagui principalis Collett, 1879 Collett, 1879 | synonym |
| Liparis montagui obscurus Collett, 1879 Collett, 1879 | synonym |
| Liparis montagui striatus Collett, 1879 Collett, 1879 | synonym |
| Liparis montagui pictus Collett, 1879 Collett, 1879 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=127220 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3V9QS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.