bonyhead sculpin

Open encyclopedia reference

Artedius notospilotus, the bonehead sculpin, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. The bonehead sculpin is characterized by its unique head shape, which resembles a blunt "bone" or ridge. Another distinguishing characteristic is the lack of scales under the anterior portion of the orbit of their eye. They are distinguished from other species of sculpin by their pigmentation, with the body ranging in shades of brown, gray, and green in a honeycomb pattern. The species lack scales below the eyes but are found on the head and the ridge of the back. Their broad head features conspicuous spines and large dorsal eyes with a smooth body. Their dorsal fin has 14–16 rays, their anal fin has 11–13 rays, and the pectoral fin has 15–17 rays. A black spot can typically be located between the first and second spines of the dorsal fin and the end of the fin.

Wikipedia contributors, Artedius notospilotus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:59:43.456343+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Artedius notospilotus Girard, 1856

Name authority

Girard, 1856

Common name

bonyhead sculpin

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Perciformes

Family

Cottidae

Genus

Artedius

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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderPerciformes
11. suborderCottoidei
12. familyCottidae Bonaparte, 1831
13. genusArtedius Girard, 1856
14. speciesArtedius notospilotus Girard, 1856

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Artedius. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 186 records assigned to Cottidae.

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.

1. Girard, C. F. (1856). Contributions to the ichthyology of the western coast of the United States, from specimens in the museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, v. 8: 131–137. 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:684KS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.