Scientific Name
Aptocyclus ventricosus

Common Name
Smooth lumpsucker

Biology
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8-9; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 7 - 9. Brownish gray with dark spots dorsally, muddy gray ventrally. Caudal fin rounded; pectoral fins large and broadly based; pelvic fins modified to form a clinging disc with a thickened margin on the ventral surface of the body (Ref. 6885). Skin naked without scales and tubercles. First dorsal fin completely embedded under the skin. Disk rudimentary in young, well developed in adults (Ref. 43939).

Classification

Classified By

Pallas, 1769

Class

Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)

Order

Scorpionfishes and Flatheads (Scorpaeniformes)

Family

Lumpfishes (Cyclopteridae)

Distribution

Region

North Pacific

Distribution

North Pacific: Pusan, Korea north (outside the Sea of Okhotsk) to Providence Bay in the Anadyr Gulf of the Bering Sea, throughout the Aleutian Basin and islands, and southeast to Mathieson Channel, British Columbia, Canada.

Range

66°N -

Environment

Climate

Temperate

Water Temperature From

Unknown °C

Water Temperature To

Unknown °C

Depth From - meters

0 m

Depth To - meters

1700 m

Zone

benthopelagic

Environment

Marine; benthopelagic; depth range 0 - 1700 m (Ref. 50550)

Trophic Level

4 s.e. 0.28 Based on diet studies.

Occurs in Marine / Salt water

True

Occurs in Brackish water

False

Occurs in Fresh Water

False

Occurs on Reefs

False

Is kept in Aquariums

False

Physical Size and Genetics

Maximum Length

41.0 cm

Common Length

Unknown cm

Phylogenetic Diversity Index

PD50 = 1.0000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Human Uses and Population

Human Uses

Fisheries:

Vulnerability

Moderate to high vulnerability (53 of 100)

Resilience

Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.)

Threat To Humans

Harmless

IUCN Red List Status

Not Evaluated