Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 10, 2026

Procottus major

Procottus major is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is endemic to Lake Baikal in Siberia. It was originally described as a subspecies of the similar but smaller red sculpin. P. major can be found at depths of up to 900 m (3,000 ft), especially on a muddy or rocky-mud bottom. In the spring and summer it typically occurs deeper than 100 m (330 ft), and in the fall and winter from 30 to 200 m (98–656 ft). It can reach a length of 30 cm (12 in), but is usually 18–22 cm (7.1–8.7 in). It feeds on smaller animals, especially gammarids, and breeding occurs in the winter at depths of 60–140 m (200–460 ft). This species is fished and its young are an important food source for other fish.

Last revised
Jul 10, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
221 w
Citations
9
Source
Procottus major
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Suborder: Cottoidei
Family: Cottidae
Genus: Procottus
Species:
P. major
Binomial name
Procottus major
Taliev, 1949
Synonyms2
  • Procottus jeittelesi major Taliev, 1949

Procottus major is a species of ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is endemic to Lake Baikal in Siberia.2 It was originally described as a subspecies of the similar but smaller red sculpin (P. jeittelesii). P. major can be found at depths of up to 900 m (3,000 ft),2 especially on a muddy or rocky-mud bottom.3 In the spring and summer it typically occurs deeper than 100 m (330 ft), and in the fall and winter from 30 to 200 m (98–656 ft).3 It can reach a length of 30 cm (12 in), but is usually 18–22 cm (7.1–8.7 in).3 It feeds on smaller animals, especially gammarids, and breeding occurs in the winter at depths of 60–140 m (200–460 ft).3 This species is fished and its young are an important food source for other fish.3

References

References

  1. Bogutskaya, N. (2020). "Procottus major". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T159636240A159636367. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T159636240A159636367.en. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Procottus major". FishBase. August 2022 version.
  3. "Большая красная широколобка [big red sculpin]" (in Russian). zooex.baikal.ru. Retrieved 31 May 2017.