Melletes papilio

Melletes papilio
a female butterfly sculpin
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Cottidae
Genus: Melletes
Species: M. papilio
Binomial name
Melletes papilio
(Bean, 1880)
Synonyms[1]
  • Hemilepidotus papilio Bean, 1880

Melletes papilio, commonly known as the butterfly sculpin, is a species of fish in the family Cottidae, the largest family of fishes referred to as sculpins. It is the only recognized species in the monotypic genus Melletes.[2]

Description

Illustration of M. papilio, the type species for genus Melletes[3]

The mature animal is maximum length of 42 cm (17 in), and maximum weight of 960 g (34 oz).[4]

Distribution

M. papilio lives in benthopelagic marine environments of the northern Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk, in sandy or silty flat areas. It is usually found at depths of 41–80 m (135–262 ft) and water temperature from −0.9 to 10.7°C.[4]

Behavior

Adults feed on mussels, crabs, and barnacles.

References

  1. "Melletes papilio (Bean, 1880)". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
  2. Tokranov, AM; Orlov, AM; Sheiko, BA (2003). "Brief review of the genera Hemilepidotus and Melletes (Cottidae) and some traits of the biology of a new species for Russia Hemilepidotus zapus from Pacific waters of the northern Kurils". Journal of Ichthyology. 43 (3): 333–49.
  3. Evermann, BW; Goldsborough, EL (1907). Fishes of Alaska. Bulletin of the Bureau of Fisheries, vol. 26, 1906. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Fig.60.
  4. 1 2 Tokranov, AM (2014). "Some features of biology of butterfly sculpin Melletes papilio (Cottidae) in the pre-Kamchatka waters of the Sea of Okhotsk". Journal of Ichthyology. 54 (8): 558–65. doi:10.1134/S0032945214050117.
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