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| NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species |
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Common Name: mottled sculpin
Taxonomy: available through 
Identification: Wydoski and Whitney (1979); Becker (1983); Page and Burr (1991); Jenkins and Burkhead (1994). Original spelling end with ii (Nelson et al. 2004).
Size: 15 cm.
Native Range:
This species has a broad distribution, with disjunct eastern and western populations. In eastern North America it occurs in the Arctic, Atlantic, and Mississippi River basins from Labrador and northern Quebec west to western Manitoba, and south to the Roanoke River drainage, Virginia, and the Tennessee River drainage, northern Georgia and Alabama, with isolated populations in the extreme upper Santee (North Carolina), Savannah (South Carolina and Georgia), Chattahoochee (Georgia), Coosa (Georgia), and Osage (Missouri) River systems. In western North America populations exist in the upper Missouri River basin, in Alberta, Montana, and Wyoming; in the Columbia River drainage from British Columbia south to Oregon and east to Wyoming; in the upper Colorado River drainage in New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming; isolated populations exist in endorheic basins in Utah and Nevada (Page and Burr 1991).
Nonindigenous Occurrences: This species has been observed in the Colorado River near Davis Dam and Lake Havasu in Arizona/Nevada (Miller 1952; Miller and Lowe 1967; Minckley 1973). Miller (1952) also reported a mottled sculpin that was sighted in Lake Havasu just south of the Needles Boat Landing in Arizona/California. It has been collected from the San Luis Valley in Colorado (Zuckerman and Behnke 1986). The species is known from two localities in the Broad drainage in North Carolina (Menhinick 1991).
Means of Introduction: Bait bucket release in the Colorado River in Arizona, California, and Nevada. Miller (1952) and Miller and Lowe (1967) reported the use of this species as a bait fish in the lower Colorado River. The fish was introduced accidently into Colorado by the Colorado Division of Wildlife (Zuckerman and Behnke 1986); the pathway of introduction is unknown for North Carolina.
Status: Reported in Arizona, California, and Nevada. Minckley (1973) speculated it may be established in the lower Colorado River; however, it is not established there (Minckley, personal communication). Established in North Carolina; reported from Colorado.
Impact of Introduction: Possible predator on young trout and eggs (Miller 1952).
Remarks: There is disagreement concerning native and introduced ranges of this species in North Carolina. Menhinick (1991) listed this species as probably introduced to the Broad River drainage. In contrast, Starnes (personal communication) believes that records of this species in the Broad drainage in North Carolina may have been the result of stream capture from the French Broad. Miller (1952) reported observations of an individual who saw a six-inch sculpin in Lake Havasu. This observation, based on the large size, may have been based on Gillichthys mirabilis, a species of goby (family Gobiidae), which is also commonly used as bait in that area.
Menhinick, E. F. 1991. The freshwater fishes of North Carolina. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. 227 pp.
Miller, R. R., and C. H. Lowe. 1967. Fishes of Arizona. Pages 133-151 in C. H. Lowe, editor. The vertebrates of Arizona, part 2. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.
Minckley, W. L. 1973. Fishes of Arizona. Arizona Fish and Game Department. Sims Printing Company, Inc., Phoenix, AZ.
Nelson, J. S., E. J. Crossman, H. Espinosa-Perez, L. T. Findley, C. R. Gilbert, R. N. Lea and J. D. Williams. 2004. Common and Scientific Names of Fishes from the United States, Canada and Mexico, Sixth Edition. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 29. Bethesda, MD.
Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. The Peterson Field Guide Series, volume 42. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.
Zuckerman, L. D., and R. J. Behnke. 1986. Introduced fishes in the San Luis Valley, Colorado. Pages 435-452 in R. H. Stroud, editor. Fish culture in fisheries management. Proceedings of a symposium on the role of fish culture in fisheries management at Lake Ozark, MO, March 31-April 3, 1985. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, MD.
Other Resources:
FishBase Fact Sheet
Author: Pam Fuller
Revision Date: 10/8/2008 Citation for this information:
Pam Fuller. 2009. Cottus bairdii. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL.
<http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=502> Revision Date: 10/8/2008
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