Rhamphocottus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Rhamphocottidae. These fishes are known as grunt sculpins. The grunt sculpins are found in the North Pacific Ocean.
Taxonomy
Rhamphocottus was first proposed as a monospecific genus by the German born British herpetologist and ichthyologist Albert Günther in 1874 when he described R. richardsonii from Fort Rupert in British Columbia. This genus was regarded as the only genus in the monogeneric family Rhamphocottidae but in 2014 the family Ereunidae was synonymised with the Rhamphocottidae and the genera Ereunias and Marukawichthys were added to the family. A second species of the genus, R. nagaakii was descrinbed in 2022.
Etymology
Rhamphocottus is a combination of rhamphos, meaning "beak", and cottus, the type genus of the Cottoidea, an allusion to the elongated snout of these fishes.
Species
Rhamphocottus contains two species: The maximum published total length for this genus is .
Distribution and habitat
Rhamphocottus grunt sculpins are found in the North Pacific Ocean where they are found from the intertidal zone down to , being found tidal pools and rocky areas, as well as areas with sand substrates.