tadpole sculpin
Psychrolutes paradoxus Günther, 1861
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
The tadpole sculpin (Psychrolutes paradoxus) is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Psychrolutidae, the fatheads and toadfishes. This species is found in the North Pacific Ocean from the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan north to the Bering Sea and east and south to the southern Puget Sound in Washington. It is found at depths between 0 and 1,100 m (0 and 3,609 ft), mainly on soft bottoms although it has been reported from rocky substrates, and may be found along the shore. This species reaches a maximum published total length of 9 cm (3.5 in).
Wikipedia contributors, Tadpole sculpin; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:11:25.308818+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Psychrolutes paradoxus Günther, 1861
- Name authority
- Günther, 1861
- Common name
- tadpole sculpin
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Psychrolutidae
- Genus
- Psychrolutes
- 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
- familyPsychrolutidae Günther, 1861
- genusPsychrolutes Günther, 1861
- speciesPsychrolutes paradoxus Günther, 1861
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Psychrolutes. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| blobfishPsychrolutes marcidus (McCulloch, 1926) | PsychrolutidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| blob sculpinPsychrolutes phrictus Stein & Bond, 1978 | PsychrolutidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Psychrolutes sio Nelson, 1980 | PsychrolutidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Psychrolutes subspinosus (Jensen, 1902) | PsychrolutidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Psychrolutes inermis (Vaillant, 1888) | PsychrolutidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Psychrolutes macrocephalus (Gilchrist, 1904) | PsychrolutidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Psychrolutes marmoratus (Gill, 1889) | PsychrolutidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Psychrolutes microporos Nelson, 1995 | PsychrolutidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| soft sculpinPsychrolutes sigalutes (Jordan & Starks, 1895) | PsychrolutidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Psychrolutes zebra Bean, 1890 Bean, 1890 | 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.
- Günther, A. (1861). Catalogue of the fishes in the British Museum. Catalogue of the acanthopterygian fishes in the collection of the British Museum. Gobiidae, Discoboli, Pediculati, Blenniidae, Labyrinthici, Mugilidae, Notacanthi. London, v. 3: i–xxv + 1–586 + i–x. 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:4PR5V. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.