Cottidae
Cottidae
Family of fishes
The Cottidae are a family of fish in the superfamily Cottoidea, the sculpins. It is the largest sculpin family, with about 275 species in 70 genera.[2] They are referred to simply as cottids to avoid confusion with sculpins of other families.[2]
Cottids are distributed worldwide, especially in boreal and colder temperate climates.[2] The center of diversity is the northern Pacific Ocean.[2] Species occupy many types of aquatic habitats, including marine and fresh waters, and deep and shallow zones. A large number occur in near-shore marine habitat types, such as kelp forests and shallow reefs. They can be found in estuaries and in bodies of fresh water.[2]
Most cottids are small fish, under 10 cm (3.9 in) in length.[3]