Fluffy Sculpin, Oligocottus snyderi

Fluffy Sculpin, Oligocottus snyderi, Green Morph. Fish caught from a tidal pool of Santa Cruz, California, October 2021. Length: 5.2 cm (2.0 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Chris Moore, Peoria, Arizona.

Fluffy Sculpin, Oligocottus snyderi, Green Morph. Fish caught from a tidal pool of Brookings, Oregon, September, 2021. Length: 5.2 cm (2.0 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Fluffy Sculpin, Oligocottus snyderi.  Fish caught from a tidal pool of Brookings, Oregon, December 2020. Length: 5.3 cm (2.0 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Luke Ovgard, Klamath Falls, Oregon.

Fluffy Sculpin, Oligocottus snyderi. Fish caught from the coastal waters off Monterey, California, December 2019. Length: 7.9 cm (3.1 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Ben Cantrell, San Diego, California.

Fluffy Sculpin, Oligocottus snyderi, Green Morp. Fish caught from with a tidal pool off Santa Cruz, California, October 2021. Length: 10.3 cm (4.1 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Chris Moore, Peoria, Arizona.

The Fluffy Sculpin, Oligocottus snyderi, is a member of the Sculpin or Cottidae Family, and is known in Mexico as chabot pelucheux. Globally, there are five species in the genus Oligocottus, of which three are found in Mexican waters, all in the Pacific Ocean.

The Fluffy Sculpin vary significantly in color with a spotted or mottled pattern ranging from emerald green to reddish to pink with a blue underbelly. They are difficult to detect in their native environments as their blotchy camouflage coloration matches its surroundings. The head has a short spine on the snout and cirrus adjacent and tuffs of cirri on top of the head, along the lateral line and at the base of the dorsal fin. Their anal fin has 12 to 15 rays; their caudal fin is rounded; their first dorsal fin has 7 to 9 spines; their second dorsal fin has 17 to 20 rays; their pectoral fins have 13 to 15 rays; and, their pelvic fins have 1 spine and 3 rays. Their body is smooth to the touch as they do not have scales but is a section of fluffy flesh behind the dorsal fin for which they are named.

The Fluffy Sculpin is found in rocky, subtidal, low intertidal pools, and in mid-intertidal pools that are vegetated with algae and eelgrass at depths up to 6 m (20 feet). They are small in stature reaching a maximum of 9.2 cm (3.6 inches) in length with the males being larger than the females. They consume amphipods and polychaete worms with older larger fish also consuming crabs and shrimp. In turn they are preyed upon by a wide variety of fishes. The Fluffy Sculpin is dimorphic with the males having an enlarged first anal ray and the first three anal rays being separated from the others that are utilized as a clasper to hold onto the female during mating. Fertilization is internal with the female depositing eggs on rocks which are then guarded by the males. Each female can spawn multiple times each year. They develop through larval, pelagic post-larval, juvenile and adult stages. They metamorphosis into juvenile fish at times when the upwelling of nutrient-rich water occurs along the coastline. They are stenothermal requiring stable water temperatures for survival. They have the ability to survive out of water for several hours as they can breath air and are known to move across land to find better living conditions. They have life spans of three years. The Fluffy 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 Fluffy Sculpin is a resident of Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean but has a limited distribution being found from Punta Cono, central Baja California northward along the central and northwest coasts of Baja.

The Fluffy Sculpin is fairly similar to and can be confused with the Tidepool Sculpin, Oligocottus maculosus (larger in stature, different cirri pattern, differently colored).

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