Smoothhead Sculpin, Artedius lateralis

Smoothhead Sculpin, Artedius lateralis. Fish caught from a tidal pool of Humboldt Bay, King Salmon, California, September, 2021. Length: 5.2 cm (2.0 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Smoothhead Sculpin, Artedius lateralis. Fish caught from a rock jetty in Sidney, British Columbia, August 2021. Length: 7.6 cm (3.0 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Kenneth Tse, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Smoothhead Sculpin, Artedius lateralis. Fish caught from coastal waters off Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, July 2017. Length: 10.2 cm (4.0 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Eli (obsessiveangling.wordpress.com).

Smoothhead Sculpin, Artedius lateralis. Fish caught from a tidal pool of Florance, Oregon, September, 2021. Length: 10.4 cm (4.1 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

The Smoothhead Sculpin, Artedius lateralis, is a member of the Sculpin or Cottidae Family, also known as the Round-nosed Sculpin, and in Mexico as charrasco cabeza lisa. Globally there are five species in the Genus Artedius of which three are found in Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean.

The Smoothhead Sculpin are dark maroon or brown with two or more dark irregular saddles and frequent light patches of varying size on the caudal peduncle. Some fish have white or pink spots on their body or vertical bands of two or more alternating dark and light bands in shades of green and brown. Males have pink or red colorations around their heads. They have flattened heads with a single forked fin on the rear of the gill cover. They vary significantly in color, being brown and greenish dorsally, transitioning to tan and greenish ventrally. Their anal fin has 12 to 14 rays; their caudal fin is rounded; their dorsal fin has 7 to 10 spines and 15 to 17 rays; their pectoral fins have 15 to 16 rays, with the lower 8 rays thickened and extended; and their pelvic fins have 1 spine and 3 rays and are small. They have 8 to 11 gill rakers. Their heads are scaleless, and they have a single band of scales on the back and thick scales along the lateral line.

The Smoothhead Sculpin is a common demersal species that is found in shallow subtidal waters on or near algae covered rock structures at depths up to 70 m (228 feet). Juvenile fish are found near shore. They reach a maximum length of 14 cm (5.5 inches), with males being larger than females. They consume algae, amphipods, copepods, polychaetes, shrimps, and snails. In turn they are preyed upon by a wide variety of fish including Kelp Greenlings, Northern Clingfish and Red Irish Lords. They have the ability to breathe air and can survive within seaweed and under rocks out of water for extended periods of time. Reproduction involves batch spawning with external fertilization; each female releases eggs in protected locations among rocks and is guarded by the males. The Smoothhead Sculpin is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.

The Smoothhead Sculpin is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific but has a limited distribution, being found from Bahia San Quintin, Baja California, northward along the northwest coast of Baja.

The Smoothhead Sculpin is straightforward to identify and cannot be confused with any other species. They are close relatives of the Coralline Sculpin.

From a conservation perspective the Smoothhead Sculpin has not been formally evaluated. They are relatively small in stature and are caught with some frequency from piers by recreational anglers but are of limited interest to most.