Threaded Sculpin

Gymnocanthus pistilliger has dorsal fins supported by between 9 and 11 spines and between 13 and 16 soft rays while the anal fin has 14 to 18 soft rays. There are a small number of bony plates typically found along the median line of the space between the eyes. There is no cirrhus above the eye in adults. There are three pairs of bony tubercles on the back of the head. The cleithrum does not have a well developed spines. The males have flattened cirri on the axil of the pectoral fin. The maximum published total length is 28 cm (11 in), although 19.5 cm (7.7 in) is more typical.

Gymnocanthus pistilliger is found in the north Pacific Ocean from the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk to the Chukchi Peninsula in Asia and from Norton Sound, Alaska to Kiska Island in the Aleutian and southeastern Alaska in North America. They are typically found in waters shallower than 50 m (160 ft) over soft substrates of sand or mud. However, they have been recorded as deps as 325 m (1,066 ft).