Cottus petiti
Cottus petiti, also called the chabot du Lez in French, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cottidae, the typical sculpins. It is endemic to France, found only in a small 3 km stretch of the river Lez in Southern France near Montpellier. The natural habitat is fed by karstic springs which may have enabled the isolated survival of the population through geological history. Now the species may be threatened by habitat loss. The males of this species are typically in length. This species was confirmed as a separate species from the European bullhead in 2005 by Jörg Freyhof, Maurice Kottelat and Arne W. Nolte.
Etymology
The specific name honours the zoologist and anatomist of the National [Museum of Natural History, France|Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle].It is part of the Cottus gobio complex, and genetically very close to C. gobio.