TAXONOMY
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Order: Scorpaeniformes (Scorpionfishes and flatheads)
Family: Hemitripteridae (Sea ravens or sailfin sculpins)

Genus/species: Blepsias cirrhosis

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS: There is a depression at the back of the head and some long cirri hang from the chin. The front edge of the first dorsal fin is high, the second dorsal and anal fins are long and approximately the same size. Coloration is usually brown mottled above with a light spot near the pectoral fins and pale below. Max length : 20.0 cm (8 inches)

 DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT: North Pacific: Sea of Japan to the Bering Sea and to San Simeon, central California, USA.  Temperate Marine  Occurs in intertidal areas and to 37 m (120 ft) depth, but more common in subtidal areas. Often found among algae.

DIET IN THE WILD: Nekton and benthic crustaceans.

REPRODUCTION: Fecundity is low, 234–404 eggs. Adult B. cirrhosus  inject eggs into the tissue near the gastral cavity of  the sponge Mycale adhaerens  using it as a spawning bed.  The eggs are hidden by the sponge which is minimally damaged with the sponge also providing constant oxygen and an environment free of most bacteria.

CONSERVATION: IUCN; Not evaluated

LOCATION: Rocky Reef Cluster Sculpins

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