Thursday, July 7, 2016

Mystery fish

 

Sadly, I don't know the identity of this fish.  But I was so taken by it —
the beautiful colors and intriguing patterning — that I couldn't resist sharing it.  And perhaps someone out there will be able to help with the identification?  The fish was ~22 mm long.  It was photographed in a shallow pool in the low intertidal zone on 7 July 2016.

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3 comments:

  1. UnknownJuly 8, 2016 at 12:05 AM

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  2. KatJuly 8, 2016 at 7:36 AM

    I too think it must be a sculpin, probably a juvenile. Looks like it might be Padded Sculpin, Artedius fenestralis, or Great Sculpin, Myoxocephalus polyacanthocephalus. Both have the trait of being able to change their color and pattern, making it harder to ID. Padded is small, 4-5", Great gets up to 20".

    Found info & photos of NW Pacific sculpins at www.emeralddiving.com/id_sculpins.html

    I love your posts, thank you.

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  3. John W. WallJuly 8, 2016 at 8:58 AM

    How about padded sculpin (Artedius fenestralis)? http://www.emeralddiving.com/id_sculpins.html

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