Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Scorpaeniformes (Scorpionfishes and flatheads) >
Cottidae (Sculpins)
Etymology: Taurulus: Greek, tauros = bull, diminutive (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; demersal; non-migratory; depth range 0 - 200 m (Ref. 58496). Temperate, preferred ?; 72°N - 35°N, 24°W - 33°E
Eastern Atlantic: Iceland, the Shetlands, from Murmansk southward to Portugal, also Baltic Sea northward to Gulf of Finland and northern Mediterranean coasts eastward to Gulf of Genoa.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 17.5 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3397); 25.0 cm SL (female); common length : 12.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3397)
Longest spine on the front gill cover reaches backwards to a point below the foremost part of the dorsal fin. Gill membranes joined to the throat, no bony knobs above or under the rough lateral line (Ref. 35388).
A resident intertidal species with homing behavior (Ref. 32612). Inhabits tide pools and inshore waters on rocky bottoms or among algae at 0-30 m. Can leave tide pools when conditions become inhospitable (Ref. 31184). Feeds on mysids, amphipods (gammarids), decapods, polychaetes, mollusks, ophiuroids and fishes. Breathes air when out of water (Ref. 31184). Information on maximum length for male taken from Ref. 4698.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Fedorov, V.V., 1986. Cottidae. p. 1243-1260. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 3. (Ref. 4698)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: public aquariums
More information
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
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Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 1.0000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 3.6 ±0.52 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
69278): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.21-.025).
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (38 of 100) .