Tidepool Sculpin (Oligocottus maculosus)

Description: Tidepool sculpins are a common tide pool species found at Haystack Rock. These creatures are little fish, usually tan but sometimes brown or green. It has a mottled pattern to its body with five dark patches on its back and reaches 9 centimeters in length. Tidepool sculpins also have little hair-like structures called cirri on top of its head (not including the snout).

Habitat: It ranges geographically from the Bering Sea down to southern California.

Diet: In tide pools, these fish feed on marine creatures like worms and small crustaceans. They’re hunted by great blue herons, various shorebirds, crabs and larger fish.

Tide Pool Tidbits:

• In order to hide from predators, tidepool sculpins can change color to match the colors of their habitat.

• Unlike some other fish, tidepool sculpins are able to handle varying levels of temperature and salinity, making them perfectly adapted to tide pools where conditions are always changing with the waves.

References: Central Coast Biodiversity, Aquarium of the Pacific