Timavo Sculpin

Can be distinguished from other species of Cottus in the Adriatic basin and Danube drainage by the combination of the following characters: body coloration uniform reddish brown, or pattern slightly darker than background; fins hyaline or dusky and rays slightly tessellated; first dorsal fin dark brown to black with bold whitish margin in live nuptial males; no prickling on body; depth of caudal peduncle 22-26% HL; body depth at origin of second dorsal fin 16-17% SL; predorsal length 33-38% SL; length between snout and origin of second dorsal fin 52-59% SL; usually 11 1/2 anal-fin rays; pelvic-fin base attached to body by a small membrane; interorbital distance 1.5-2.0 times in eye diameter; last anal-fin ray attached to body at base only; membrane of first dorsal fin usually reaching to origin of second dorsal; length of caudal peduncle 45-62% HL; dorsal head length 21-25% SL (Ref. 55856).

Analsoft rays: 11

Occurs in large, very cold spring. Attains first sexual maturity at 1 year. Spawns in March (Ref . 59043).

Cottus scaturigo, the Timavo sculpin, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is endemic to the Timavo Spring in Italy. This species was described as a separate species from the European bullhead (C. gobio) in 2005 by Jörg Freyhof, Maurice Kottelat and Arne W. Nolte. However, the Catalog of Fishes treats this taxon as a synonym of Cottus metae, although FishBase treats it as a separate species. The specific name scaturigo means “spouting water”, i.e. a spring, an allusion to the Timavo Spring.