Cottus perplexus Gilbert & Evermann, 1894
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 reticulate sculpin (Cottus perplexus) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is found in the United States, inhabiting Pacific Slope drainages from the Snohomish River and Puget Sound in Washington to the Rogue River system in Oregon and California. It reaches a maximum length of 10.0 cm. This sculpin occurs in a variety of habitats, but mainly occurs in the slower sections of coastal headwaters, creeks, and small rivers. It prefers faster water with rubble or gravel substrate, but occurs in pools and along stream edges when other sculpin species are present. Often it occurs in clear cold water in forested areas. Its ideal habitat is cold creeks in old-growth forest, with plenty of riffles and runs. This species is tolerant of variable water temperatures and salinities. Where other sculpin species are common, spawning occurs in slow-flowing areas; where other sculpin species are rare or absent, spawning usually occurs in riffles.
Wikipedia contributors, Reticulate sculpin; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:25:36.206207+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cottus perplexus Gilbert & Evermann, 1894
- Name authority
- Gilbert & Evermann, 1894
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Perciformes
- Family
- Cottidae
- Genus
- Cottus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · 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
- familyCottidae Bonaparte, 1831
- genusCottus Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesCottus perplexus Gilbert & Evermann, 1894
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Cottus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Cottus pollux Günther, 1873 | CottidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| shorthead sculpinCottus confusus Bailey & Bond, 1963 | CottidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cottus chattahoochee Neely, Williams & Mayden, 2007 | CottidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cottus ohmiensis Watanabe, 1960 | CottidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| coastrange sculpinCottus aleuticus Gilbert, 1896 | CottidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| prickly sculpinCottus asper Richardson, 1836 | CottidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cottus baileyi Robins, 1961 | CottidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| mottled sculpinCottus bairdii Girard, 1850 | CottidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cottus beldingii Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1891 | CottidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cottus bendirei (Bean, 1881) | CottidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cottus czerskii Berg, 1913 | CottidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cottus dzungaricus Kottelat, 2006 | CottidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- Gilbert, C. H., & Evermann, B. W. (1894). A report upon investigations in the Columbia River basin, with descriptions of four new species of fishes. Bulletin of the U. S. Fish Commission, v. 14 (art. 16) (for 1894): 169–207, Pls. 16–25. 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:YYK5. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.