Clinocottus

Clinocottus is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. They are nearshore benthic fishes native to the northeastern Pacific Ocean. They are mentioned as sharpnose sculpins.

==Taxonomy== Clinocottus was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1861 by the American zoologist Theodore Gill with Oligocottus analis, which had been described in 1858 by Charles Frédéric Girard from Monterey, California, as its only species. Molecular data indicate that this genus is polyphyletic or paraphyletic, it does not constitute a natural assemblage within Cottidae. Workers have found that the lavender sculpin (Leiocottus hirundo) is the sister taxon to C. analis, a species which is not closely related to C. acuticeps. In turn, C. acuticeps is determined to be basal to Artedius, or to the clade referred to as Oligocottinae. The 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies the genus Clinocottus within the subfamily Cottinae of the family Cottidae, however, other authors classify the genus within the subfamily Oligocottinae of the family Psychrolutidae.