Evidence
Where all of this came from.
39 reference records rest on 224 published pages, and 109 of those come from state and provincial natural-resources departments. That suits a set of records about what lives in the water those departments survey. The rest is federal survey work, university and extension guides, and interagency reports. The counts are below. Every reviewed line sits behind a record or a search, with the sources standing behind its record.
How to read this
A line is cited as precisely as someone checked it.
Where a reviewer traced a line to the pages that carry it, the line names those pages and, when the evidence is narrower than the record, where it comes from — one coast, one lake, one region. 605 of 1049 of the lines below are traced that way. The rest show the sources standing behind their whole record, marked “record’s sources”, because nobody has yet checked which page carried which line, and printing a single citation there would be a mapping nobody made.
National
52
A federal or national government body — USGS, NOAA, EPA, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Park Service, Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
State
109
A state, provincial or commonwealth natural-resources department. Most of this carrier rests here, which suits it: these are the bodies that survey the water the records describe.
Interagency
12
A commission or joint survey run across several agencies, such as the Great Lakes Fishery Commission's forage task groups.
University
45
A university research programme, cooperative extension service or Sea Grant office. Published work, but not the agency that manages the water.
Journal
6
A peer-reviewed paper, or a curated scientific register such as the World Register of Marine Species. Added with the 2026-09-25 evidence review, which went to the primary study where no agency page said what a claim needed.
Probe leftovers
What the weekly check could not treat as ordinary.
These addresses are still the citations. The check named what it saw. None of them is a gone page in the MISIN sense, so the records were not rewritten to hide a redirect, a timeout, or a bot wall.
Iowa DNR — BluegillMoved
The cited address answers through a permanent redirect. GET on the page that lands still names Bluegill.
A same-site move that still names the animal is not the MISIN case. The citation stays until a reviewer reads the new address into the record.
CASG — market squidUnreachable from this network
The California Sea Grant market-squid page times out from the probe network.
NOAA still covers the same animal on this record. The CASG address stays; a timeout is not a reason to drop a citation.
Mass.gov — menhaden and longfin squidRefused the probe
Both creature-feature pages answered 403 from the probe network.
A bot wall is not evidence the page is gone. The citations stay; the weekly check does not fail the build on unverifiable.
Michigan DNR — crayfish identification PDFRefused the probe
The cited PDF answered 403 from the probe network.
A refused PDF is not a 404. The citation stays on the crayfish record until a reviewer can open it.
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute — silversidesRefused the probe
The Menidia page answered 500 from the probe network.
A 500 is not a 404, and it is not a 403. The citation stays.
Claims
Every reviewed line in the app.
Sculpin →31 lines
- What you can seeBroad, flattened, frog-like head with a large mouthCTDEEP-SLIMY-SCULPIN, MDC-MOTTLED-SCULPIN
- What you can seeLarge fan-shaped pectoral fins it props and scoots onMDC-MOTTLED-SCULPIN, IDFG-SCULPIN-WE, ADFG-SLIMY-SCULPIN
- What you can seeNo scales — small prickles insteadMDC-MOTTLED-SCULPIN, ADFG-SLIMY-SCULPIN
- What you can seeTwo dorsal fins, joined at the base or nearly separate depending on species, the front spines soft and flexibleMDC-MOTTLED-SCULPIN, DFO-BAITFISH-PRIMEREvidence from: Mottled sculpin narrowly joined; Ozark and knobfin broadly joined
- What you can seeMottled brown to grey or green with dark blotches over body and fins; belly and pectorals sometimes tinted orangeCTDEEP-SLIMY-SCULPIN, ADFG-SLIMY-SCULPIN
- What you can seeLateral line incomplete in slimy and mottled sculpin, stopping beneath the base of the second dorsalCTDEEP-SLIMY-SCULPIN, ADFG-SLIMY-SCULPIN, MDC-MOTTLED-SCULPINEvidence from: Slimy and mottled sculpin; banded sculpin's lateral line is complete
- What argues against itRough-edged scales and six or more stiff dorsal spines is a darter, not a sculpinMDC-DARTERS
- What argues against itChin barbels and an adipose fin behind the back fin — in madtoms a low ridge that may run into the tail — is a catfish: a madtom or a young bullheadMDC-BLACK-BULLHEAD, MDC-SLENDER-MADTOM
- What argues against itAbsence of a swim bladder does NOT separate sculpin from darters: sources state a darter's swim bladder is absent or much reduced too, and both sink and dash the same wayMDC-DARTERS, MDC-MOTTLED-SCULPIN
- What argues against itNocturnal habit does not separate them either — madtoms forage at night as wellMDC-SLENDER-MADTOM
- Declared limitThe most-repeated sculpin fact is the weakest separator. No swim bladder is true and well sourced, but a darter's is also described as absent or much reduced, so a sinking bottom fish is not automatically a sculpin. Scales, dorsal-spine stiffness and head width are the characters that actually work.MDC-DARTERS, MDC-MOTTLED-SCULPIN
- Declared limitOne agency notes slimy sculpin are sometimes mistaken for young burbot and gives no separating characters. Neither does any other source consulted.ADFG-SLIMY-SCULPIN
- Declared limitSize ceilings differ by source — about 4.5 inches for mottled sculpin, under five to six inches generally, usually under six inches. Compatible ranges, but no single number is offered.MDC-MOTTLED-SCULPIN, NPS-SCULPINS, IDFG-SCULPIN-WE
- Declared limitThe claim that sculpin suppress trout by eating trout eggs is not supported by the sources consulted. Missouri's field guide says sculpins do not feed to any great extent on trout eggs and young, and one southwest Montana study found bottom-dwelling aquatic insects made up 99.7 percent of the diet. No consulted source makes a population-level claim.MDC-MOTTLED-SCULPIN, MTFG-ROCKY-MTN-SCULPINEvidence from: 99.7% figure: one southwest Montana study of Rocky Mountain sculpin
- Size bandadult: 51-152 mmCTDEEP-SLIMY-SCULPIN, MDC-MOTTLED-SCULPIN, NPS-SCULPINS, IDFG-SCULPIN-WEEvidence from: Lower bound: slimy sculpin commonly 2 in (Connecticut). 152 mm is a family-level ceiling; slimy and mottled sculpin top out near 115-120 mm
- Water typestreamrecord’s sources
- Water typeriverrecord’s sources
- Water typespringrecord’s sources
- Water typelake-marginrecord’s sources
- Water typelake-openrecord’s sources
- Life stageyoung-of-yearrecord’s sources
- Life stageadultrecord’s sources
- Where it sitson the bottom and under it — wedged among rocks, under cover, extremely crypticCTDEEP-SLIMY-SCULPIN, IDFG-NATIVE-SCULPIN
- Where it sitsclear cold streams with gravel to cobble bottom and moderate to fast flow; spring branchesCTDEEP-SLIMY-SCULPIN, MDC-MOTTLED-SCULPIN
- Where it sitsin Lake Superior, on deep bottom — one 1988 study found slimy and spoonhead sculpin most abundant between fifty and ninety metresUSGS-LKSUP-SCULPIN-BIO, USGS-SCULPIN-SYNTHESISEvidence from: Lake Superior; slimy and spoonhead sculpin; 1988
- How it moveslies motionless, then moves in short quick dashesMDC-MOTTLED-SCULPIN
- How it movesappears to hop along the bottom, scooting on the pectoral finsADFG-SLIMY-SCULPIN, IDFG-SCULPIN-WE
- How it movesnocturnalADFG-SLIMY-SCULPIN, NPS-SCULPINS
- How it movesstays on the bottom — there is no swim bladder to hold it upMDC-MOTTLED-SCULPIN, ADFG-SLIMY-SCULPIN, IDFG-SCULPIN-WE
- Sources disagreeThe National Park Service says sculpins' spines can pierce unwary hands, in a family-wide account weighted toward marine species; Missouri Department of Conservation describes the dorsal spines of its freshwater sculpins as soft and flexible, superficially like soft rays.record’s sources
- Sources disagreeSculpin spawning dates differ by source and species: Idaho Fish and Game says late winter to early summer; Missouri gives early March through April for mottled sculpin (to late June in the Ozarks); Montana gives May and June; Alaska says slimy sculpin spawn in spring after ice break-up.record’s sources
- Alaska Department of Fish and GameADFG-SLIMY-SCULPIN · State · read 2026-09-04
- Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental ProtectionCTDEEP-SLIMY-SCULPIN · State · read 2026-09-04
- Missouri Department of ConservationMDC-MOTTLED-SCULPIN · State · read 2026-09-04
- Missouri Department of ConservationMDC-DARTERS · State · read 2026-09-04
- Missouri Department of ConservationMDC-SLENDER-MADTOM · State · read 2026-09-04
- Missouri Department of ConservationMDC-BLACK-BULLHEAD · State · read 2026-09-04
- U.S. National Park ServiceNPS-SCULPINS · National · read 2026-09-04
- Idaho Department of Fish and GameIDFG-SCULPIN-WE · State · read 2026-10-26
- Idaho Department of Fish and GameIDFG-NATIVE-SCULPIN · State · read 2026-09-04
- Montana Fish, Wildlife & ParksMTFG-ROCKY-MTN-SCULPIN · State · read 2026-09-04
- U.S. Geological SurveyUSGS-SCULPIN-SYNTHESIS · National · read 2026-09-04
- U.S. Geological SurveyUSGS-LKSUP-SCULPIN-BIO · National · read 2026-09-04
- Fisheries and Oceans CanadaDFO-BAITFISH-PRIMER · National · read 2026-09-02
The pages themselves
All 224, and what each one is holding up.
- Alaska Department of Fish and Game
ADFG-SLIMY-SCULPIN
- Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
CTDEEP-SLIMY-SCULPIN
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada
DFO-BAITFISH-PRIMER
- Idaho Department of Fish and Game
IDFG-NATIVE-SCULPIN
- Idaho Department of Fish and Game
IDFG-SCULPIN-WE
- Missouri Department of Conservation
MDC-BLACK-BULLHEAD
- Missouri Department of Conservation
MDC-DARTERS
- Missouri Department of Conservation
MDC-MOTTLED-SCULPIN
- Missouri Department of Conservation
MDC-SLENDER-MADTOM
- Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
MTFG-ROCKY-MTN-SCULPIN
- U.S. Geological Survey
USGS-LKSUP-SCULPIN-BIO
- U.S. Geological Survey
USGS-SCULPIN-SYNTHESIS
- U.S. National Park Service
NPS-SCULPINS
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