Oligocottus maculosus			THE RACE ROCKS TAXONOMY

								Two sculpin are in this picture- camouflage blends them in. In the artificial tidepool, this sculpin as taken up residence after 5 years. This sculpin is well camouflaged. The photo was taken at about 8 meters depth. In this 56 k version for lower bandwidths, a mussel is fed to the sculpins which dart out to take a morsel.
					Domain Eukarya Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Subphylum Vertebrata Class Actinopterigii Order Scorpaeniformes Sub Order Cottoidei Family Cottidae Genus Oligocottus Species maculosus Common Name: Tidepool Sculpin
							This picture was taken by Ryan Murphy while diving at Race Rocks.
		Sculpin have ability to blend in with their surroundings which is useful in escaping from enemies and in capturing their prey by ambush. The body is elongate, its depth about 10cm. Head somewhat depressed, its length about 6cm. The snout is blunt in profile and It is moderate in size, the upper jaw extending to midpupil. The species is very abundant in tide pools around rocky the rocky shores of Race Rocks. Tide pool sculpins show a definite tendency to return to their home pool if moved. These are very abundant in the tidepools on the north east corner of Great Race Rock. A piece of edible tissue dropped into a pool usually causes a feeding frenzy.
					This file is provided as part of a collaborative effort by the students of Lester B. Pearson College Dec 2002 Abdul Mobin
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