Pacific Staghorn Sculpin

Leptocottus armatus

The Pacific staghorn sculpin, "Leptocottus armatus", is a common sculpin found in shallow coastal waters along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Baja California. The sole member of its genus, it is unusual for having spined antler-like projections on its gill covers; it can raise the projections as a defense mechanism.
sculpin fry - well camouflaged in a freshwater creek near the point where it was emptying onto the beach Geotagged,Leptocottus armatus,Pacific staghorn sculpin,Spring,United States

Appearance

Staghorn sculpins are slender fish, with a grayish olive above, pale creamy yellow sides, and a white belly. The first dorsal fin has 7 spines and usually a dark spot in the posterior half, while the second dorsal has 17 rays. The anal fin also has 17 rays, while the pelvic fins have four rays. The fins have barred patterns of varying prominence. They can reach a length of 46 cm.

Habitat

They are common in estuaries and coastal lagoons, where they feed on a variety of invertebrates, primarily amphipods such as "Corophium".

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderPerciformes
FamilyCottidae
GenusLeptocottus
SpeciesL. armatus