Amazed by a Dead Fish

I found two of these fish yesterday, belly up, in a tiny creek in the intertidal zone. Bullheads, as I have always called them; I think the "correct" name is sculpins. Pacific staghorn sculpins? Those are common here, according to the references I found. But so are several other varieties.

I had never seen the underside before, at least not to pay attention to. They're boring fish, after all; they're dark and/or camouflaged, and they just skulk on the bottom and startle waders. Too small to eat, too sluggish to jump, too common around here to merit a second glance.

But upside-down, in the sunlight, they're beautiful! Look at this detail!

This was taken with the fish still under an inch or two of clear water. Do click on the image to see the pattern close up. Those rows of little white dots are not just coloration; they protrude like tiny gleaming bone tips.

Here's a closer view:

I guess I should have flipped at least one of the fishes over and photographed the topside, for identification purposes. But somehow it didn't feel "right" to disturb their rest. Silly me; by now, the crabs will have eaten them anyhow.

But I'm entitled to be absurd sometimes, I think.

And in spite of that, I still hope someone can come up with a good ID for these little guys.