Fourspine sculpin

The fourspine sculpin (Rheopresbe kazika) is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is the only member of the genus Rheopresbe.^[2] It is endemic to Japan. It reaches a maximum length of 30.0 cm (11.8 in).^[3]

Fourspine sculpin
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Suborder:	Cottoidei
Family:	Cottidae
Genus:	Rheopresbe Jordan & Starks, 1904
Species:	R. kazika
Binomial name
Rheopresbe kazika (D. S. Jordan and Starks, 1904)
Synonyms
Cottus kazika Jordan & Starks 1904

Taxonomy

The fourspine sculpin was first formally described in 1904 by the American ichthyologists David Starr Jordan and Edwin Chapin Starks with its type locality given as Niigata in Japan.^[4] This species is placed in the monospecific genus Rheopresbe by some authorities, as molecular analyses indicated that this species was a sister taxon to Trachidermus fasciatus, another catadromous Japanese sculpin.^[5] This taxonomy is followed by Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes.^[2] The specific name kazika is a Japanese word for river sculpins.^[6]