In this continuing series we today look at a rarely seen but very pretty little fish known as a Silverspotted Sculpin (Blepsias cirrhosus). Sliver spots are a scorpaeniform marine fish and are in the in very large Hemitripteridae family made up of over 250 members of fish species.
A tall and deeply notched first dorsal fin makes the Silverspotted Sculpin relatively easy to identify once you find one. It also has a line of silver spots running along each of its sides, and a patch of hair-like cirri projecting out from around its mouth. While it may be easy to identify, it can be quite difficult to spot: its prominent, leafy-looking fins and golden brown or dark green colouring help it camouflage among kelp.
Growing up to 20 cm in length, these sculpins inhabit the intertidal and subtidal to depths of 40 meter (120 ft.) or more, though they are more common at relatively shallow depths.
The Silverspot’s range extends along coasts on both sides of the Pacific, from northern California to the Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea, and across to Asia as far south as the Sea of Japan.
Photographing these little sculpins can be quite challenging, not only because of their camouflaging abilities but also the areas that they live. Swimming through eelgrass beds and along sandy bottoms, peering around rocks and lifting up kelp fronds can be sometimes boring, sometimes tiring work but spotting one of these fish is truly rewarding.
Similar to other fish and typical sculpin behavior, most photos are of tails of fish as they swim away from you. Be very patient, wait for these fish to make the first move and then anticipate their next one, that way you’ll land the shot you're looking for.
Thanks for reading and good luck.
Scott
For more stories and images - http://www.scottstevensonphotography.ca/
Oh. Great. I love it.
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With the camaflauging feature, the Silverspotted sculpin are more like the chameleon of the waters.
40 metres is quite a lot of depth.
Whats the maximum depth you swim down to?
I'm a certified technical diver as well as rebreather diver, I don't really have a maximum limit. I'm only limited by the gas I can carry with me. My deepest dive to date is just over a 103 meters.
Whats the oxygen cylinder limit?
Its my first time seeing this species , thanks for sharing wildlife content its creature looks truly amazing
Your photograph has been good. And nature enhances the beauty of the picture.
Looks like a lizard huh
Great shots and detail!
Wow! At first i was Afraid But Now I am all Right. Thanks For Your Post. @scottdphoto
woooow it's very good photos bro
Hi @scottdphoto you're the best! I really love cool photos of small animals such as the one you have in your post. Keep it up my friend and feel free to visit my blogs too
Crazy photography!! 👌
Yup that's awesome, I wanna going diving now. @scottdphoto
very beautiful eyes...little dragon...excellent photography,,,
Your patience is rewarded with beautiful photos. We are very pleased to see them. This is a great pleasure.
The fish was incredible @scottdphto
Thanks for this interesting post; I'm always amazed how many species live in our oceans! Do you ever think humans will know everything that exists in the deep??
💙 Great post. Very good writing,i like this post 💙
💛 Thanks for sharing 💛The results are very professional photo shoot, although so many challenges because the fish can change color at any time but @scottdphoto, has obtained a very satisfactory results, terimaksih already shared. send regards for success
I don’t know about you but it looks cool and cute to me. Haha! Sea creatures always amaze me. Thanks for sharing this!
The world has so many interesting things :)
This is my first to see such a fish.
Oceans are the most mysterious part of Earth
Hello, great work, i liked your post and reward it with upvote.
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