COMMENTS
v. 13.0 – 18 June 2026 view/download PDF
Family COTTIDAE Sculpins
22 genera/subgenera · 129 species/subspecies
Abyssocottus Berg 1906 abyssos, deep water, referring to its occurrence in the deep water of Lake Baikal; Cottus, type genus of family
Subgenus Abyssocottus
Abyssocottus fuscus Bogdanov 2013 dusky, dark or swarthy, referring to brown coloration [possibly an unavailable name since holotype was not deposited at a museum as required by ICZN Article 16.4.2]
Abyssocottus korotneffi Berg 1906 in honor of biologist Alexei Alexeievich Korotneff (1852-1914), Kiev University, who dredged all the sculpins from Lake Baikal that Berg examined, including type of this one
Abyssocottus pumilus Bogdanov 2013 dwarfish, diminutive or little, referring to small size, up to 58.3 mm TL [possibly an unavailable name since holotype was not deposited at a museum as required by ICZN Article 16.4.2]
Subgenus Korotnevia Bogdanov 2023 –ia (L. suffix), belonging to: Russian zoologist Aleksei Alekseevich Korotnev (1854-1915), founder of the study of the deepwater fishes of Lake Baikal
Abyssocottus elochini Taliev 1955. of Cape Elokhin, 2 km south of type locality at Lake Baikal, Russia
Abyssocottus gibbosus Berg 1906. humpbacked, presumably referring to high nape and arched dorsal profile
Abyssocottus subulatus (Dybowski 1908) subulate (slender and tapering to a point), proposed as a longer or more streamlined variety (or subspecies) of A. gibbosus
Alpinocottus Bogdanov 2023. alpinus, alpine or mountain, referring to occurrence of A. poecilopus in mountain brooks; Cottus, all three species originally placed in that genus
Alpinocottus kuznetzovi (Berg 1903) patronym not identified but probably in honor of Innokentiy Dmitrievich Kuznetsov (1863–1921), Russian ichthyologist and fisheries scientist who took part in expeditions to Azov Sea (1886), Volga (1890) and Caspian Sea (1894)
Alpinocottus poecilopus (Heckel 1837) poecilio-, varicolored; pous, foot, presumably referring to narrow transverse stripes on all fins (except first dorsal fin), but best seen in the ventral fins (which are all-white on Cottus gobio, its presumed congener at the time)
Alpinocottus szanaga (Dybowski 1869) from Szanaga-sagasu (spoon fish), Buryat (Mongolian dialect) for this sculpin in the Upper Amur River basin
Alpinocottus volki (Taranetz 1933) patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Alexander Maksimovich Volk (d. 1943), Pacific Scientific-Research Institute of Fisheries; he was Taranetz’ friend and they collected fishes, amphibians and reptiles together in the Russian Far East (both died in action during WW2)
Asprocottus Berg 1906 aspro-, etymology not explained, possibly from asper, rough, referring to body (but not head) densely covered with spines, and/or to Aspro, referring to slender, ventrally-flattened body shape of A. herzensteini, superficially resembling the European percid Aspro apron (=Zingel asper); Cottus, type genus of family
Asprocottus abyssalis Taliev 1955 of the deep sea, referring to its occurrence at up to 1400 m in the southern part of Lake Baikal
Asprocottus herzensteini Berg 1906 patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Russian ichthyologist Solomon Markovich Herzenstein (1854-1894)
Asprocottus intermedius Taliev 1955 intermediate, presumably intermediate in characters between A. herzensteini and A. abyssalis
Asprocottus korjakovi korjakovi Sideleva 2001 in honor of Evgeniy Alekseevich Koryakov, an ichthyologist at the Lake Baikal Limnological Station in the 1940s (this sculpin is endemic to Lake Baikal)
Asprocottus korjakovi minor Sideleva 2001 small, presumably referring to smaller size (up to 80 mm TL) compared with the nominate form (up to 110 mm TL)
Asprocottus parmiferus Taliev 1955 parma, shield; fero, to bear, referring to whole body (except for belly, area under pectoral fins, and lower part of head) covered with wide bony scutes
Asprocottus platycephalus Taliev 1955 platy, flat; cephalus, head, referring to dorso-ventrally flattened head, its shape similar to the bill of a duck
Asprocottus pulcher Taliev 1955 beautiful, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to it coloration, described as having a brown back, yellow-brown sides, and dark-gray fins
Batrachocottus Berg 1903 batrachus, frog, allusion not explained, probably referring to large head and or wide mouth of B. baicalensis; Cottus, type genus of family
Batrachocottus baicalensis (Dybowski 1874) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Lake Baikal, where it is endemic
Batrachocottus multiradiatus Berg 1907 multi-, many; radiatus, rayed, proposed as a variety (or subspecies) of B. nikolskii with a greater number of dorsal-, anal- and pectoral-fin rays
Batrachocottus nikolskii (Berg 1900) in honor of ichthyologist-herpetologist Alexander Mikhailovich Nikolsky (also spelled Nikolskii, 1858-1942)
Batrachocottus talievi Sideleva 1999 in honor of Dmitrii Nikolaevich Taliev (1908-1952), Soviet ichthyologist-limnologist, known for his work studying the sculpins of Lake Baikal, where this one is endemic
Comephorus Lacepède 1800 coma, from the Greek kome, hair of the head; phorus, bearer, referring to many rays of second dorsal fin garnished with long, hair-like filaments, a misnomer: Lacepède, paraphrasing Pallas’ exaggerated account of the delicacy of the dorsal-fin rays of C. baikalensis, erroneously believed the rays, as fine as hair, extended far beyond the fin’s membrane (which they do not)
Comephorus baikalensis (Pallas 1776) –ensis, suffix denoting place: Lake Baikal of Russia, where it is endemic
Comephorus dybowski Korotneff 1904 in honor of Polish biologist Benedykt Dybowski (1833-1930), the “learned professor who has studied this strange genus of fishes the most” [often spelled dybowskii, but Korotneff (also spelled Korotnev) left off the second “i,” either a transcription error or a noun in apposition]
Cottinella Berg 1907 –ella, a diminutive; Cottus, type genus of family, i.e., a small sculpin, allusion not explained, proposed as a subgenus of Abyssocottus, possibly referring to smaller size (12.2 cm TL) relative to A. gibbosus (14.0 cm) and A. korotneffi (13.2 cm)
Cottinella boulengeri (Berg 1906) patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of ichthyologist-herpetologist George A. Boulenger (1858-1937), British Museum (Natural History)
Cottocomephorus Pellegrin 1900 combination of Cottus and Comephorus (Comephorinae), a similar genus also from Lake Baikal
Cottocomephorus alexandrae Taliev 1935 matronym not identified, probably in honor of Taliev’s wife, amphipod biologist Aleksandra Yakovlevna Bazikalova; they worked together at the Limnological Research Station at Lake Baikal, where this sculpin is endemic
Cottocomephorus comephoroides (Berg 1900) –oides, having the form of: resembling Comephorus baikalensis, also from Lake Baikal
Cottocomephorus grewingkii (Dybowski 1874) patronym not identified but probably in honor of Konstantin Ivanovich Grewingk (1819-1887), Baltic-German geologist and mineralogist
Cottocomephorus inermis (Yakovlev 1890) unarmed, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to small spines on head, usually hidden in skin, and/or sparse scales on body, lacking spines
Cottus Linnaeus 1758 Latinization of the Greek kóttos (κόττος), kṓthos (κῶθος) and a few similar words, denoting a bulging head, used as a name for small freshwater fishes with a large head [Gobio, gudgeon, and Gobius, goby, have the same etymological source]
Subgenus Cottus
Cottus aturi Freyhof, Kottelat & Nolte 2005 of Aturus (also spelled Athurus), Latin name of River Adour (occurs in Adour and Nivelle drainages in France and Spain)
Cottus cyclophthalmus Sideleva, Kesminas & Zhidkov 2022 cyclos, round; ophthalmus, eye, referring to round and convex shape of eyes
Cottus dorofeevi Sideleva & Shidkov 2024 in honor of zoologist Sergei A. Dorofeev, Vitebsk State University (Belarus), for his “remarkable contribution to advances in the field”; he also organized and took part in the collection of type specimens
Cottus duranii Freyhof, Kottelat & Nolte 2005 of Duranius (also spelled Durranus), Latin name of River Dordogne, France, in whose drainage type locality (Stream Epie) is situated
Cottus dzungaricus Kottelat 2006 –icus, belonging to: Dzungarian Gobi (Mongolia and China), where it occurs [replacement name for Cottus sibiricus altaicus Li & Ho 1966, preoccupied by C. altaicus Kaschenko 1899; may be a junior synonym of C. sibiricus]
Cottus gobio Linnaeus 1758 from the Greek kobios, most likely meaning head, usually applied to small fishes with large heads
Cottus gratzianowi Sideleva, Naseka & Zhidkov 2015 in honor of Valerian Ivanovich Gratzianow (also spelled Gratsianov, 1876-1932), author of the first taxonomic review of Russian fishes (1907), and who described C. koshewnikowi
Cottus haemusi Marinov & Dikov 1986 of Haemus, old name of the Balkan Ridge, from which the Beli Vit River (Danube River basin, Bulgaria, type locality) originates
Cottus hispaniolensis Bǎcescu & Bǎcescu-Meşter 1964 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Hispania (i.e., Iberian Peninsula), referring to its occurrence in the southern Garonne drainage of Spain (also in France)
Cottus jaxartensis Berg 1916 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Jaxartes, ancient name of Syr Darya, Uzbekistan, in whose type locality (Ugam River, tributary of Chirchik River) is situated
Cottus koshewnikowi Gratzianov 1907 in honor of entomologist Grigorii Aleksandrovich Kozhevnikov (1866-1933), Moscow University, president of the Commission for the Study of the Fauna of the Moscow Governorate from the Goredva River (Oka River Basin), under whose auspices holotype was collected
Cottus metae Freyhof, Kottelat & Nolte 2005 in honor of biologist Meta Povž (Ljubljana, Slovenia), for her “continuous help with several projects”
Cottus microstomus Heckel 1837 micro-, small; stomus, mouth, referring to smaller mouth than that of C. gobio
Cottus perifretum Freyhof, Kottelat & Nolte 2005 peri-, around; fretum, strait, referring to its occurrence in streams on both sides of the English Channel (Fretum Gallicum in Latin)
Cottus petiti Bǎcescu & Bǎcescu-Meşter 1964 in honor of zoologist-anatomist Georges Petit (1892-1973), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris), “with esteem and affection on the occasion of his 50th anniversary in science” (translation)
Cottus rhenanus Freyhof, Kottelat & Nolte 2005 –anus, belonging to: Rhenus, Latin name of Rhine River (Germany), in whose drainage it occurs
Cottus ricei (Nelson 1876) in honor of Nelson’s friend F. L. Rice, then a student in zoology at Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois, USA), who collected holotype and gave it to Nelson for identification
Cottus rondeleti Freyhof, Kottelat & Nolte 2005 in honor of Guillaume Rondelet (1507-1566), precursor of European ichthyology and author of one the very first ichthyological treatises (1554-55); he was professor of medicine at the University of Montpellier, very close to type locality (a creek in Dept. Hérault, France)
Cottus sabaudicus Sideleva 2009 –icus, belonging to: Sabaudia, Latin spelling of Savoy, referring to Haute-Savoy district of southeastern France, where this sculpin appears to be endemic
Cottus sibiricus Warpachowski 1889 –icus, belonging to: Siberia, where type locality (Yenisey River near Minusinsk Town, Krasnoyarsk Krai) is situated
Cottus spinulosus Kessler 1872 diminutive of spinosus, spiny, referring to granular spiny plates densely covering upper sides of head and dorsal and lateral regions of body
Cottus transsilvaniae Freyhof, Kottelat & Nolte 2005 of Transsilvania, Latin name of Transylvania, historical region located in central Romania, where this sculpin is endemic
Subgenus Cephalocottus Gratzianov 1907 proposed as a new genus for C. amblystomopsis, distinguished by its flattened cephalus, or head
Cottus amblystomopsis Schmidt 1904 misspelling (with an “l”) of Ambystoma, referring to the Axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanus; opsis, appearance, described as having a head that is “strongly dorsoventrally depressed, wide, nearly flat dorsally, abruptly sloping laterally, similar to the head of an axolotl” (translation)
Cottus nozawae Snyder 1911 in honor of zoologist Shunjiro (sometimes spelled Sunziro) Nozawa, Director, Fisheries Bureau (Hokkaido, Japan) [although named after a man, some classically trained zoologists latinized the names of individuals that ended with the letter “a” by adding an “e” to the spelling]
Subgenus Cottopsis Girard 1850 opsis, appearance, proposed as a new genus for C. asper, similar to Cottus but distinguished by its palatine teeth and dermal prickles
Cottus aleuticus Gilbert 1896 –ica, belonging to: the Aleutians (specifically, Unalaska Island, Alaska, USA), type locality (occurs in eastern Pacific south to California)
Cottus asper Richardson 1836 rough, its back and sides “thickly studded with very small, subulate, acute spines directed backwards”
Cottus asperrimus Rutter 1908 superlative of asper, very rough, presumably referring to “Fine prickles” covering body
Cottus gulosus gulosus (Girard 1854) gluttonous, referring to its “proportionally large” mouth
Cottus gulosus wintu Moyle & Campbell 2022 named for the Wintu people, original inhabitants of the Sacramento River watershed of California (USA), where this sculpin occurs; the Winnemem Wintu (Middle Water People) still live in the area and are working to restore salmon runs and to protect sacred rivers and sites in the region
Cottus klamathensis klamathensis Gilbert 1898 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Upper Klamath Lake near Klamath Falls, Klamath County, Oregon (USA), type locality (also occurs in California)
Cottus klamathensis macrops Rutter 1908 macro-, large; ops, eye, referring to larger eye than nominate form
Cottus klamathensis polyporus Daniels & Moyle 1984 poly, many; porus, pore, referring to greater number of lateral-line pores compared with the other two subspecies
Cottus marginatus (Bean 1881) margined, presumably referring to “distinct” white margin on first dorsal fin
Cottus ohlone ohlone Moyle & Campbell 2022 named for the Ohlone peoples, original inhabitants of the Santa Clara Valley region and much of the southern San Francisco Bay region of California (USA), where this sculpin occurs; the Ohlone name originally referred to more than 50 peoples who spoke similar languages and interacted with one another, but whose descendants are largely encompassed by the present-day Muwekma Ohlone Tribe
Cottus ohlone pomo Moyle & Campbell 2022 named for the Pomo peoples who were once the principal inhabitants (prior to the arrival of the Spanish) of the Russian River region of California (USA), where this sculpin occurs
Cottus perplexus Gilbert & Evermann 1894 interwoven, entangled, involved, intricate or confused, allusion not explained, possibly referring to its complex color pattern (e.g., “back and sides with vermiculations of light and dark, the back with 5 or 6 ill-defined black crossbars, which usually reach the lateral line; … below the lateral line a number of small, quadrate, dark blotches, arranged in two irregular series”); Jordan & Evermann (1898) say name means “perplexed” without explanation, and Moyle (Inland Fishes of California, 2nd. ed., 2002) translates name as “perplexing,” reflecting the difficulty in defining this species, but species was unambiguously described without any confusion or hesitation regarding its distinctiveness and status)
Cottus pitensis Bailey & Bond 1963 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Pit River basin, California, USA, type locality (the river itself was was named because early Euro-American visitors were impressed by the deep pits dug by the native peoples to trap wildlife)
Cottus princeps Gilbert 1898 chief, first or foremost, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to how it differs from congeners known at the time in its “very narrow, slender form, the long fins, and especially in the extreme development of the mucous tubes and pores”
Cottus tenuis (Evermann & Meek 1898) slender, referring to its “very slender” body
Subgenus Uranidea DeKay 1842 uranos, sky; eidon, I looked, i.e., stargazer, referring to “nearly vertical” eyes of C. quiescens (=cognatus) [treated as a full genus by some workers]
Cottus baileyi Robins 1961 in honor of ichthyologist Reeve M. Bailey (1911-2011), University of Michigan, for his “many noteworthy” contributions to our knowledge of North American freshwater fishes
Cottus bairdii bairdii Girard 1850 in honor of Spencer Fullerton Baird (1823-1887), Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Director of the U.S. National Museum, and U.S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, who collected type
Cottus bairdii kumlieni (Hoy 1876) in honor of ornithologist Aaron Ludwig Kumlien (1853-1902), who provided a “very accurate” drawing of the holotype of Uranidea hoyi (=Cottus cognatus) [authorship uncertain from text; perhaps Nelson (ex Hoy), with description from one of Hoy’s types]
Cottus bairdii punctulatus (Gill 1861) speckled, referring to numerous black spots, “very small and abundant” on head and anterior portion of body, with “quite thickly spotted” dorsal-, caudal- and pectoral-fin rays
Cottus bairdii semiscaber (Cope 1872) semi-, half; scaber, rough, referring to “prickly” skin above lateral line, smooth below it posteriorly
Cottus bendirei (Bean 1881) in honor of U.S. Army officer and ornithologist Charles E. Bendire (1836-1897), who collected type
Cottus caeruleomentum Kinziger, Raesly & Neely 2000 caeruleus, blue; mentum, chin, referring to blue chin of spawning males
Cottus carolinae carolinae (Gill 1861) in honor of Gill’s “estimable young friend,” Miss Caroline Henry (1839-1920); she was the daughter of Joseph Henry (1797-1878), first Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, who took Gill under his wing when Gill was beginning his career
Cottus carolinae infernatus Williams & Robins 1970 of the lowlands, referring to its distribution below the Fall Line in Alabama (USA)
Cottus carolinae zopherus (Jordan 1877) Greek for dusky, referring to its “very dark, almost black” color
Cottus chattahoochee Neely, Williams & Mayden 2007 named for its distribution in the Chattahoochee River drainage above the Fall Line in Georgia (USA)
Cottus cognatus cognatus Richardson 1836 related, referring to its resemblance to the European C. gobio
Cottus cognatus gracilis Heckel 1837 slender, referring to its “slimmer and less spindle-shaped” body (translation) compared with C. gobio
Cottus echinatus Bailey & Bond 1963 Latin for prickly, referring to “heavy investment of prickles on the body, including the ventral surface” [extinct due to pollution and increased salinity from agriculture and drought; last seen in 1928]
Cottus extensus Bailey & Bond 1963 extended or stretched out, referring to its slender form
Cottus girardi Robins 1961 in honor of ichthyologist-herpetologist Charles Girard (1822-1895), “an early student of the genus”
Cottus hubbsi Bailey & Dimick 1949 in honor of Carl L. Hubbs (1894-1979), who recognized the species as new and “from whose broad experience with North American fishes [the authors] have drawn freely”; he also read the manuscript and offered “numerous helpful criticisms”
Cottus hypselurus Robins & Robison 1985 hypselos, high; oura, tail, referring to deep posterior part of body
Cottus immaculatus Kinziger & Wood 2010 spotless (immaculate), referring to absence of melanophores on ventral surface of peritoneum
Cottus kanawhae Robins 2005 of the Kanawha (=New) River system, Virginia and West Virginia, USA, where it is endemic
Cottus paulus Williams 2000 Latin for little, it being the smallest North American sculpin (38 mm SL, 45 mm TL) [replacement name for C. pygmaeus Williams 1968, preoccupied by Cottus quadricornis pygmaeus Lönnberg 1932, =Myoxocephalus quadricornis]
Cottus rhotheus (Smith 1882) rushing (i.e., torrential), presumably referring to its occurrence in falls or swift current [author later known as Rosa Smith Eigenmann]
Cottus specus Adams & Burr 2013 cave or cavern, referring to primary habitat in caves
Cottus tallapoosae Neely, Williams & Mayden 2007 of the Tallapoosa River drainage, where it occurs above the Fall Line in Alabama and Georgia (USA)
Subgenus Incertae sedis
Cottus altaicus Kaschenko 1899 –icus, belonging to: Altai, Siberia, Russia, where type locality (Katun River, Bol’shoi Uiman) is situated
Cottus beldingii Eigenmann & Eigenmann 1891 in honor of professional bird collector Lyman Belding (1829-1917), who collected part of type series
Cottus confusus Bailey & Bond 1963 Latin for clouded, referring to “irregular and indistinct body pigmentation”
Cottus czerskii Berg 1913 in honor of ornithologist Alexander Ivanovich Czerski (1879-1921, son of Jan Czerski [1845-1892], celebrated Polish geologist, naturalist and explorer), who helped collect type
Cottus greenei (Gilbert & Culver 1898) in honor of Charles Wilson Greene (1866-1947, then a physiology instructor at Stanford University (later a full professor of physiology and pharmacology at University of Missouri), “to whose energy was due much of the success of the expedition” during which type was collected (he later studied the phosphorescent organs of toadfishes, the circulatory system of hagfishes, and the physiology of Chinook Salmon)
Cottus hangiongensis Mori 1930 –ensis, suffix denoting place: location not explained, perhaps an alternate spelling of Hamgyeong, referring to North Hamgyeong Province of North Korea, where type locality (Kainei) is situated
Cottus kolymensis Sideleva & Goto 2012 –ensis, suffix denoting place: referring to its occurrence in the Kolyma River and other rivers of the Kolyma Krai (federal subject) of Russia
Cottus koreanus Fujii, Choi & Yabe 2005 Korean, known only from the Korean Peninsula, where it occurs in several rivers
Cottus leiopomus Gilbert & Evermann 1894 leios, smooth; poma, operculum, referring to its lack of preopercular spines
Cottus ohmiensis Watanabe 1960 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Ōmi Province, an old province of Japan that today comprises Shiga Prefecture, where co-type localities (Chinai River and Ado River) are situated [status uncertain; provisionally included here]
Cottus pollux Günther 1873 presumably named for Pollux, along with Caster, the Gemini, or twins, in Greek mythology, a seeming twin to C. gobio, described as “very similar” in general appearance and color
Cottus reinii Hilgendorf 1879 in honor of “Prof. Rein,” who provided type, probably German geographer Johannes Justus Rein (1835-1918), who explored Japan in 1874-1875
Cottus schitsuumsh LeMoine, Young, McKelvey, Eby, Pilgrim & Schwartz 2014 Americanist phonetic notation of the spoken word (pronounced s-CHEET-sue-umsh) used by the first peoples (now recognized as the Coeur d’Alene Tribe) who inhabited portions of northern Idaho and western Montana (where this sculpin occurs), meaning “those who were found here,” referring to the people of this tribe
Cyphocottus Sideleva 2003 cypho-, bent or hunchbacked, referring to back of C. megalops, which elevates sharply with age, forming a hump; Cottus, type genus of family
Cyphocottus eurystomus (Taliev 1955) eury, wide; stoma, mouth, proposed as a subspecies of C. megalops with a bigger mouth, its terminus reaching middle of eye (vs. first ⅓ of eye)
Cyphocottus megalops (Gratzianov 1902) mega-, large; ops, eye, referring to very large convex eyes, their diameter horizontally four times in HL
Leocottus Palmer 1961 leo, etymology not explained nor evident, but here is a guess: named for ichthyologist Lev (or Leo) Semyonovich Berg (1876-1950), who wrote several papers on Lake Baikal sculpins that Taliev cited, and who described over a dozen sculpin taxa; Cottus, type genus of family [Taliev did not designate a type, so authorship is credited to G. Palmer, British Museum (Natural History), a compiler for the Zoological Record, who designated type; not to be confused with Leiocottus]
Leocottus kesslerii kesslerii (Dybowski 1874) patronym not identified but probably in honor of German-Russian zoologist Karl Federovich Kessler (1815-1881), who described Cottus spinulosus in 1872
Leocottus kesslerii arachlensis Tarkhova 1962 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Lake Arakhlei, Lake Baikal Basin, Russia, type locality
Leocottus kesslerii gussinensis Tarkhova 1962 –ensis, suffix denoting place: Lake Gusinor (also spelled Gusinoye), Lake Baikal Basin, Russia, type locality
Leptocottus Girard 1854 leptos, slender, referring to “elongated” body and head; Cottus, type genus of family
Leptocottus armatus Girard 1854 armed (with a weapon), referring to large, sharp preopercular spines
Limnocottus Berg 1906 limno-, lake, endemic to Russia’s Lake Baikal; Cottus, type genus of family
Limnocottus bergi Dybowski 1908 in honor of ichthyologist Lev (also Leo) Semyonovich Berg (1876-1950), who proposed the genus in 1906
Limnocottus bergianus Taliev 1935 –anus, belonging to: patronym not explained but almost certainly in honor of Russian ichthyologist Lev (or Leo) Semyonovich Berg (1876-1950), who proposed the genus in 1906
Limnocottus godlewskii (Dybowski 1874) patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Polish naturalist Wiktor Ignacy Aleksandrovich Godlewski (1831-1900), who was exiled to Siberia, along with Dybowski, after the failed Polish uprising (1863) in Ukraine; he settled in a village by Lake Baikal (where this sculpin is endemic), where he studied the local fauna
Limnocottus griseus (Taliev 1955) gray, described as having a violet-brown body with a gray belly
Limnocottus pallidus Taliev 1948 pallid, described as having a yellow-brown back and nape, light-yellow sides, and light-gray belly with a lilac tint
Mesocottus Gratzianov 1907 mesos, middle, allusion not explained, perhaps Gratzianov believed this genus was intermediate between two or more related genera (he placed it between Asprocottus and Abyssocottus in his key); Cottus, type genus of family
Mesocottus haitej (Dybowski 1869) from Haïtij-sagasu, Buryat (Mongolian dialect) for this sculpin in the Upper Amur River basin
Neocottus Sideleva 1982 neo-, new; Cottus, type genus of family, allusion not explained, perhaps connoting a similarity with Cottus and/or its uniqueness (e.g., a new kind of sculpin), distinguished by the morphology of its lateral-line system papillae, unique in the family
Neocottus thermalis Sideleva 2002 Latin for hot spring, referring to its occurrence in the region of hydrothermal activity
Neocottus werestschagini (Taliev 1935) patronym not identified, probably in honor of Gleb Yurievich Werestschagin, limnologist and cladocerologist, Leningrad Academy of Sciences, who led an expedition to Lake Baikal (1925-1927), where this sculpin is endemic
Paracottus Taliev 1949 para-, near; Cottus, original genus of P. knerii
Paracottus knerii knerii (Dybowski 1874) patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of Austrian ichthyologist Rudolf Kner (1810-1869)
Paracottus knerii putorania Koryakov & Sidelev 1976 –ia, belonging to: Putorana Plateau, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, where type locality (Lake Agatha, Enisei River basin) is situated
Procottus Gratzianov 1902 pro-, before, forward, first, or in front of, allusion not explained but probably referring in some way to its similarity to and/or close relationship with Cottus, original genus of the type species P. jeittelesii
Procottus bicolor Dybowski 1908 bi-, from bis (L.), two, of two colors, proposed as a variety of P. jeittelesii with a brownish-red body and yellowish lateral spots
Procottus gotoi Sideleva 2001 in honor of ichthyologist Akira Goto, Hokkaido University (Japan), who studies freshwater sculpins (and who later collaborated with Sideleva on the description of Cottus kolymensis in 2012)
Procottus gurwicii (Taliev 1946) in honor of “talented” zoologist Georgi Semenovich Gurvich (1906-1942), who was killed in action near Leningrad during WW2
Procottus jeittelesii (Dybowski 1874) patronym not identified but probably in honor of Ludwig Heinrich Christian Jeitteles (1830-1883), Czech zoologist, paleontologist, geologist, and a pioneer of seismological research in the mid-19th century; he also proposed the genus Alburnoides (Cypriniformes: Leuciscidae) in 1861
Procottus major Taliev 1949 Latin for reater, proposed as a subspecies of P. jeittelesii that reaches a larger size (35 cm vs. 28 cm)
Procottus minor Taliev 1946 Latin for smaller, allusion not explained, proposed as a subspecies of P. jeittelesii that presumably reaches a smaller size (7.5 cm TL)
Rheopresbe Jordan & Starks 1904 rheo-, to flow swiftly; presbys, old man or elder (i.e., first born), referring to Takitaroo (“first born of the cataract”), Japanese name of R. fujiyamae (=kazika)
Rheopresbe kazika (Jordan & Starks 1904) from kajika, Japanese name for river sculpins
Trachidermus Heckel 1837 trachys, rough; dermus, skin, referring to scaleless body with thick skin covered with hook-shaped spines with their points turned backwards
Trachidermus fasciatus Heckel 1837 banded, referring to three vertical, dark-brown bands on upper body and/or narrow, brown transverse bands on pectoral, dorsal, anal, and caudal fins