Icelus bicornis (Reinhardt, 1840)
Twohorn sculpin
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In the study area, Icelus bicornis is found in the cold North Atlantic waters appearing to prefer temperatures below 0 °C and depths of 40 to 180 m on sand, mud or rocky substrate. However it is found in temperatures up to about 9 °C and depths of up to 560 m. It is distributed along Norwegian coasts up to Spitzbergen and the Barents Sea as far as 82 degrees North, and west to Iceland and the Greenland coast. Spawning occurs from August to October (Whitehead et al., 1986b).
Sculpin are thick-skinned fish with bony plates and spines. Icelus bicornis has a row of spiny plates below the dorsal fin usually with small bony knobs covering the area immediately below the soft dorsal fin. The head is broad and deep and the lateral line does not reach the base of the caudal fin. Colouration is yellowish with brown spots and with stripes on the fins. Length ranges to over 15 cm but more commonly 8 to 9 cm (Whitehead et al., 1989).
During the present survey one specimen was recorded from the Kosterfjord Säcken reef where it was resting on the seabed in the transitional zone. It did not appear to be disturbed by the presence of the camera.
The Cottidae family do not appear to be of any commercial importance in the study area.
There is more information available for this species in FishBase.
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