Spinyhead sculpin

Dasycottus setiger

Fish
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth0–298 m
Water temperature3–18 °C
Best monthsJune
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

About this species

The spinyhead sculpin is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Psychrolutidae, the fatheads. This species is found in the northern Pacific Ocean. This species is the only species in the monospecific genus Dasycottus.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Spinyhead sculpin”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 3 records
February: 8 records
March: 14 records
April: 35 records
May: 221 records
June: 479 records
July: 193 records
August: 45 records
September: 103 records
October: 52 records
November: 33 records
December: 7 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–298 m · Deepest record: 1,300 m

0–10 m: 269 records
10–20 m: 4 records
20–30 m: 9 records
30–40 m: 4 records
40–50 m: 9 records
50–60 m: 7 records
60–70 m: 5 records
70–80 m: 7 records
80–90 m: 5 records
90–100 m: 12 records
100–110 m: 15 records
110+ m: 129 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 3–18 °C

2–4 °C: 27 records
4–6 °C: 58 records
6–8 °C: 92 records
8–10 °C: 109 records
10–12 °C: 292 records
12–14 °C: 0 records
14–16 °C: 2 records
16–18 °C: 4 records

Names and classification

English: Spinyhead sculpin, spinyhead sculpin

Names in 3 more languages

French: chabot à tête épineuse
Japanese: Ganko, ガンコ
Korean: 고무꺽정이

Other scientific names: Dasycottus japonicus

Similar species

Pale Toadfish
Ambophthalmos angustus
Bonyskull Toadfish
Cottunculus nudus
Flathead Sculpin
Ebinania australiae
Ebinania brephocephala
Ebinania vermiculata

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
1,682 open-data records from 1888 to 2024.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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