Microcottus
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| Microcottus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Microcottus sellaris | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Suborder: | Cottoidei |
| Family: | Psychrolutidae |
| Genus: | Microcottus P. J. Schmidt, 1940 |
| Type species | |
| Acanthocottus sellaris | |
Microcottus is a small genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. These fishes are found in the northern Pacific Ocean.
Microcottus was first proposed as a genus in 1940 by the Soviet zoologist Peter Schmidt with Acanthocottus sellaris as its type species by monotypy.[1] A. sellaris has originally been described by Charles Henry Gilbert from Bristol Bay in Alaska.[2] The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies this genus in the subfamily Cottinae of the family Cottidae[3] but other authorities classify it in the subfamily Myoxocephalinae of the family Psychrolutidae,[1] although others place the subfamily Myoxocephalinae within the Cottidae.[4]
Etymology
Microcottus prefixes Cottus, the type genus of the family Cottidae, with micro, meaning "small", alluding to the small size of M. sellaris in comparison to the related genus Myoxocephalus.[5]
Species
Microcottus is a small genus which contains 2 species:[6]
- Microcottus matuaensis Yabe & Pietsch, 2003
- Microcottus sellaris (C. H. Gilbert, 1896) (Brightbelly sculpin)