Of the two soft sculpins in the Arctic, this one is smoother skinned, with few
spines. Its common name refers to the colour of its skin a translucent
grey, which darkens toward the tail. Its dorsal and anal fins are long, extending
the length of its body, and are quite soft and flexible. Bumps and knobs adorn
its head, which is quite large, and rounded. This fish reaches a length of about
35 cm.
The pallid sculpin is a bottom-dweller that consumes small invertebrates on the
deep ocean floor. It occurs from 1001600 m, in waters from Davis Strait,
extending through the Atlantic to off the coast of North Africa. Little is known
of its biology, but it is believed to prefer waters that are slightly warmer than
its soft sculpin relative, the polar sculpin.