Bald Sculpin, Clinocottus recalvus

Bald Sculpin, Clinocottus recalvus. Fish caught off Harris Beach, Brookings, Oregon, December 2020. Length: 8.7 cm (3.4 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Bald Sculpin, Clinocottus recalvus. Fish caught from coastal waters off Santa Cruz, California, September 2023. Length: 10 cm (3.9 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, Peoria, Illinois.

The Bald Sculpin, Clinocottus recalvus, is a member of the Sculpin or Cottidae Family, that is known as charrasco pelón. Globally, there are six species in the genus Clinocottus of which three are found in Mexican waters and all three are found in the Pacific Ocean.

The Bald Sculpin has an elongated tapering body with a large, depressed, flattened, and wide head. They are speckled in light to dark brown with lighter reddish and white mottling. They have a pair of large eyes on top of their head and a large broad mouth equipped with numerous small teeth. Their anal fin has 10 to 13 rays; their caudal fin is rounded; and their dorsal fin has 8 or 9 spines and 14 to 17 rays, their pectoral fins have 13 to 15 rays, and their pelvic fins have 1 spine and 3 rays. They have 5 to 8 gill rakers.

The Bald Sculpin is a demersal species that is found in tidal pools and shallow rocky areas. at depths up to 2 m (70 feet). They reach a maximum of 13 cm (5.1 inches) in length. They are seen with their heads exposed for a couple of minutes and then emerge to surface again after several minutes. They have the ability to breathe air and can survive for up to 90 minutes out of water. They are lie-in-wait ambush predators that are herbivores that consume diatoms, small crustaceans, and mollusks. Reproduction is oviparous with internal fertilization and spawning occurring in shallow coastal waters. Each female lays several batches of eggs multiple times per year. The Bald 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 Bald Sculpin is most likely confused with the Calico Sculpin, Clinocottus embryum (olive gray to deep red dorsally transitioning to gray or green ventrally with a protruding upper lip).

The Bald Sculpin is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but has a limited distribution being found from Punta Rompiente, Baja California Sur, northward along the central and northwest coasts of Baja.

From a conservation perspective the Bald Sculpin has not been formally evaluated. They are small in stature and of interest to most.