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Twohorn sculpin

species of fish

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJan 24, 2025
Entity authorityQ2287054 ↗
Source-derived summary

The twohorn sculpin (Icelus bicornis) is an Arctic benthic fish species of the order Scorpaeniformes.

Description

The twohorn sculpin is typically 5–12 cm long and may reach 15 cm. It has a thin caudal peduncle, one sharp spine located in front of each eye and two spines behind, hence its common name. Like other sculpins, this species has two dorsal fins (the first is spiny while the second is soft-rayed), large pectoral fins and slender pelvics. The caudal fin is slightly rounded and has dark, vertical bars and a black spot at the base. The body is yellowish, with many dark blotches on the back and sides.

Distribution

In Canada, this fish occurs as far north as the northern tip of Ellesmere Island. Elsewhere, it is distributed along Norwegian coasts up to Spitzbergen and the Barents Sea (as far north as 82 degrees), and west to Iceland and Greenland. It is typically found at depths between 40 and 180 metres on sand, mud or rocky substrates.

Size

This species reaches a length of 15.7 cm (6.2 in).

Editorial summary

“Twohorn sculpin” enters the record as species of fish. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Twohorn, sculpin and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA practical orientation to terminology and classification, particularly when read beside dated observations, specimens or technical literature. The current 177-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Twohorn, sculpin and species.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Twohorn sculpin” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Twohorn, sculpin and species provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 24, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q2287054.

Critical limits

Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

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  2. Expand the search: follow Twohorn sculpin primary sources, Twohorn sculpin archive and Twohorn research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Twohorn sculpin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.