Pygmy Sculpin

The pygmy sculpin persists in an extremely restricted range. This species is only found in Coldwater Spring and the associated spring run in the locality of Calhoun County, Alabama in the United States. An impounded spring in the Coosa River Drainage, Coldwater Spring is slightly over an acre at 0.4 hectares. Surrounded by concrete sides, the spring pool ranges in a depth of 5 cm (2.0 in) to 2 m (6 ft 7 in), ranging from 16 to 18 °C (61 to 64 °F). The bottom is consistent with gravel and sand substrates, scattered with large rocks and mats of vegetation. The spring run has a width of 18 m (59 ft) and length of 152 m (499 ft), with a flow rate of 121 million litres per day. Although the pygmy sculpin are found throughout the spring, they are least common over sandy substrates, with the exception of juveniles usually occurring in low current areas over gravel bottom.