- Animals
- ›Chordates
- ›Vertebrates
- ›Ray-finned Fishes
- ›Spiny-rayed fishes
- ›Perches, Scorpionfishes, Sticklebacks, and Allies
- ›Sculpins and Allies
- ›Fathead Sculpins
- ›Leiocottus

lavender sculpin
Leiocottus hirundo
Leiocottus hirundo, the lavender sculpin, is a species of sculpin, a nearshore benthic fish native to the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is found from southern California, United States to northern Baja California, Mexico. It lives from inshore waters to a depth of around 37 metres (121 ft). This species grows to a length of 25 centimetres (9.8 in) TL.
From the article Lavender sculpin on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
The lavender sculpin has dorsal fins which are supported by 9 or 10 spines and 16 or 17 soft rays while the anal fin has between 14 and 16 soft rays. The pelvic fins each have a single spine and 3 rays. The color is olive-green, brown, orange-brown or lavender with four saddle-like blotches along the back of the rear of the body and there are four brown bars on the lips. This species grows to a maximum published total length of 25 cm (9.8 in).
Range & habitat
The lavender sculpin is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from southern California, United States to northern Baja California, Mexico. It lives from inshore waters to a depth of around 37 metres (120 ft).
== References ==
Wikipedia: “Distribution and habitat”
In human culture
The lavender sculpin's genus name, Leiocottus, is a combination of leios meaning "smooth" with Cottus, the type genus of the family Cottidae. This is a reference to the smooth skin of this fish with no prickles or scales. The specific name hirundo is Latin for a swallow and is a reference to the similarity to Chelidonichthys lucerna Girard perceived in this species.
Wikipedia: “Etymology”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Leiocottus hirundo in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 223141.