Sculpin

a name popularly given to unshapely and repulsive fishes of different genera. The yellow sculpin belongs to a different family from the daddy sculpin, and it again is not the same as the common grubby of the New York and the New England coasts which rivals it in ugliness. All are unshapely with very large spiny heads, wide mouths, and slender, tapering bodies. These sculpins are of a dull, mottled color and are found in coast waters, both of the Atlantic and the Pacific, being especially abundant on the western coast where they are used sometimes by the Indians for food although held in contempt by the whites. Still another sculpin is the deep-water sculpin, or sea-raven. It is particularly hideous and is distinguished by a long, irregular dorsal fin, having about seventeen spines.