Untitled - Alaska Resources Library

Benthic; intertidal (Miller and Lea 1972), including tidepools (Hubbs and Schultz 1934), and to depth
of 15 m (50 ft; LACM 7952.000).
Liparis fucensis Gilbert, 1896. Slipskin Snailfish. To 17.8 cm (7 in) TL (Miller and Lea 1972). Southeastern
Bering Sea and Unimak Pass, eastern Aleutian Islands (Mecklenburg et al. 2002) to near San Simeon, central
California (Miller and Lea 1972). Benthic, at depths of 4–388 m (13–1,272 ft) (min.: LACM 31937.020;
max.: Miller and Lea 1972); juveniles often found in rocky tidepools (Mecklenburg et al. 2002).
Liparis gibbus Bean, 1881. Dusky Snailfish, Polka-dot Snailfish, or Variegated Snailfish. To 52.4 cm
(20.6 in) TL (Able and McAllister 1980). Circumpolar in Arctic Ocean; Beaufort and Chukchi seas to
northwestern Bering Sea, eastern Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska to northern British
Columbia (Mecklenburg et al. 2002). Reported from southeastern Kamchatka, northern Kuril Islands,
and Commander Islands, but there are no confirmed records from there or from the western Bering
Sea south of the northwestern portion (B. A. Sheiko, pers. comm. to C. W. M.). Benthic, at depths of
25–427 m (82–1,401 ft) (min.: Allen and Smith 1988; max.: Kido and Yabe in Okamura et al. 1995).
Liparis greeni (Jordan & Starks, 1895). Lobefin Snailfish. To 30.8 cm (12.1 in) TL (C. W. M., unpubl. data).
Commander Islands; Pribilof Islands (southeastern Bering Sea) and Aleutian Islands to Washington.
Benthic; intertidal area, including tidepools, to shallow water near shore; to depth of 21 m (69 ft; C. W. M.,
unpubl. data). All in Mecklenburg et al. (2002) except for the newer data. Classified in genus Polypera
by some authors. Polypera beringiana Gilbert & Burke, 1912, recently called Liparis beringianum, is a
junior synonym (Mecklenburg et al. 2002), although evidently not recognized as such by all authors
(e.g., Nelson et al. 2004).
Liparis marmoratus Schmidt, 1950. Festive Snailfish. To 8.4 cm (3.3 in) TL (Schmidt 1950). Known from
two specimens from Okhotsk Sea (Schmidt 1950, Chernova 1998), and one specimen from northern
Bering Sea near St. Lawrence Island (Busby and Chernova 2001). Benthic, at depths of 100–165 m (328–
541 ft) and shallower (Mecklenburg et al. 2002).
Liparis megacephalus (Burke, 1912). Bighead Snailfish. To about 28 cm (11.0 in) TL (Kim et al. 1993). Sea of
Japan off South Korea; eastern Bering Sea and off Amchitka Island, Aleutian Islands. Benthic, at depths
of 58–69 m (190–226 ft). All in Mecklenburg et al. (2002).
Liparis micraspidophorus (Gilbert & Burke, 1912). Thumbtack Snailfish. Less than 10 cm (3.9 in) TL.
Commander Islands; Aleutian Islands to Cold Bay, Alaska Peninsula. Benthic, in tidepools and shallow
intertidal. All in Mecklenburg et al. (2002). Authorship of the species name and original description is
correctly attributed to both Gilbert and Burke, not only, as sometimes seen, to Burke.
Liparis mucosus Ayres, 1855. Slimy Snailfish. To about 12.7 cm (5.0 in) TL (Jordan and Starks 1895).
Samsing Cove, southeastern Alaska (Mecklenburg et al. 2002) to Bahia San Carlos (29°36'N, 115°12'W;
SIO 52-212), central Baja California. Kodiak Island reports are unconfirmed (Mecklenburg et al. 2002).
Benthic, from intertidal area to 15 m (50 ft; Miller and Lea 1972), usually not in tidepools (Mecklenburg
et al. 2002).
Liparis ochotensis Schmidt, 1904. Okhotsk Snailfish. To 74 cm (29.1 in) SL (Tokranov 2000a). Seas of Japan
and Okhotsk, and Pacific Ocean off Hokkaido and Kuril Islands to southeastern Kamchatka; Bering
Sea; specimens from Kodiak Island, western Gulf of Alaska (Quast and Hall 1972) may be L. gibbus
(Mecklenburg et al. 2002). Benthic, 0–761 m (0–2,497 ft) (min.: Kido 1988; max.: Orlov 1998), usually
50–300 m (164–984 ft; Kido 1988).
Liparis pulchellus Ayres, 1855. Showy Snailfish. To 25.4 cm (10 in) TL (Miller and Lea 1972). Southeastern
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (Mecklenburg et al. 2002) to Monterey Bay, central California (Miller
and Lea 1972). Benthic, from intertidal area to depth of 183 m (600 ft; Miller and Lea 1972).
105