ROOT MEANING: 
From the Greek eu (truly), micros (small), and trema (aperture); and the Latin orbs (sphere). Eumicrotremus may refer to the very small gill opening; orbis probably describes a lumpsucker's round body shape.

CLASSIFICATION: 
phylum Chordata, class Osteichthyes, order Scorpaeniformes, family Cyclopteridae.

RELATED ANIMALS: 
Smooth lumpsucker, snailfishes.

VISUAL DESCRIPTION: 
Very round body covered with spiny cone-shaped protuberances. Eyes quite large, mouth small with thick lips. Pelvic fins modified to support a large adhesive sucking disc on the belly of the fish. Variable colors, ranging from olive green to yellowish or mauve. Female are usually larger than males, and sport more conical protuberances.

SIZE: 
Up to 5 inches (12.7 cm), but more normally 1–1.5 inches.

RANGE: 
From Washington along the Aleutian Islands chain and down the Asian coast to Sakhalin. Also in the Bering Sea as far as St. Lawrence Island.

HABITAT: 
Subtidal to 480 feet (146 m). Often found in kelp or eelgrass communities.

BEHAVIOR: 
Spiny lumpsuckers are very inefficient swimmers and seem to prefer being attached to something solid, such as a rock, log or kelp. They can be seen at low tide attached to rocks in fast tidal currents.

REPRODUCTION: 
Males establish egg-laying sites, often inside a barnacle shell or some other protected area. Females lay as many as 200 adhesive, cherry-red eggs in late winter, which the males guard. By April or May tiny young can often be seen in eelgrass communities.

NATURAL HISTORY NOTES: 
Spiny lumpsuckers have been compared to tiny helicopters or ping-pong balls with fins. Their fins are small and nearly invisible, giving the illusion of a rotund little fish hovering and moving about in no apparently predictable direction and with no visible means of support. They are excellent camouflage artists and are difficult to see unless they're moving. Even at rest they appear to be gasping.

We divers find him nights in the rocks around 15-20 feet deep on the
jetty.  He likes a little taste of freshwater on occasion and finds it
there. They are really friendly and will eat out of your hand (sort of
like chipmunks of the deep). -- gdt (Oregon Coast Museum)

SOURCES: 
Eschmeyer, pg. 195
Hart, pg. 577
Lamb, pg. 185