Range and Identity
Cottus pitensis occurs in the Pit drainage and the Sacramento system above the mouth of the Pit, in California and adjoining Oregon waters. The river-based name is useful, but it does not replace an exact drainage when documenting an observation near a watershed boundary.
Habitat and Behavior
Rocky riffles in headwater streams and small rivers provide recorded habitat. Current and the arrangement of stones help describe the occupied patch. A broad description such as river fish can conceal important differences between a shallow riffle and a nearby deep, quiet pool.
Food and Life History
The compiled maximum is thirteen centimeters total length. A comparable maximum mass is not established in the retrieved account. Detailed prey proportions and a universal spawning calendar are also unavailable there, so information from another western sculpin is not substituted for direct evidence.
Field Note
Photograph the whole fish and retain the stream name. Closely related sculpins can require more than general body shape for a reliable identification.
All Lakes With Pit Sculpin
Browse all lakes and reservoirs with confirmed Pit Sculpin records in our database, listed alphabetically.
No published lakes are currently linked to this species in our confirmed records.