The First Record of the Fourhorn Sculpin ((Triglopsis Quadricornis Linnaeus, 1758): Actinopterygii: Scorpaeniformes: Cottidae) in the Southeastern Part of the Baltic Sea (Lithuanian Coastal Zone)

Abstract

The fourhorn sculpin (Triglopsis quadricornis), a fish of the northern Baltic Sea waters, was caught on April 14, 2009. It is the first record of this species in the southeastern Baltic Sea (ICES Subdivision 26). The fish was caught in the period of hydrological spring, during seasonal thermocline formation. The standard body length of the caught specimen was 275 mm and weight 355 g. Main morphometric characters: D1 – VIII, D2 – 14, V – 3, P – 16, A – 14, C – 14. It was a female with gonads at maturity stage V. Parasitic helminths typical of coldwater fishes of the northern and southeastern Baltic Sea were detected in its intestine: eight unencysted larvae (L3) of roundworms (Hysterothylacium aduncum Rudolphi, 1809), 19 encapsulated larvae of acanthocephalans (Corynosoma semerme Forssell, 1904) and one larva of Corynosoma strumosum (Rudolphi 1802). There were no remains of nutritive organisms found in the stomach and intestine of the fourhorn sculpin. From a biological viewpoint, this coldwater fish is to...