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The Southern California Wooly Sculpin is a common fish in tide pools. We saw this Wooly Sculpin (say quickly, "SKULL-pin") in a tide pool near Point Loma in San Diego.

The Wooly Sculpin is a lurk-and-lunge hunter. That is, it often hunts by waiting quietly and resting on the bottom but will jump up with a quick lunge when its prey comes within range. Sculpins eat small animals; possibly worms, snails, or crabs. Notice how this Wooly Sculpin is holding itself steady with its broad pectoral fins as it rests on the bottom.

This Wooly Sculpin was 3 inches long. We saw many of these fish between 2 and 5 inches long. The smaller fish were more common. The Wooly Sculpin has excellent camouflage, which is probably necessary since it spends so much of its time resting in one place.