Identification of Mediterranean marine gobies (Actinopterygii: Gobiidae) of the continental shelf from photographs of in situ individuals
Author
Kovačić, Marcelo
marcelo@prirodoslovni.com
Author
Renoult, Julien P.
jurenoult@gmail.com
Author
Pillon, Roberto
robertopillon@gmail.com
Author
Svensen, Rudolf
rudolf@uwphoto.no
Author
Bogorodsky, Sergey V.
ic187196@yandex.ru
Author
Engin, Semih
engin.semih@gmail.com
Author
Louisy, Patrick
marcelo@prirodoslovni.com
text
Zootaxa
2022
2022-06-01
5144
1
1
103
http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
journal article
112019
10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1
c1fa17ee-253d-40e6-8b2e-f6391f845414
1175-5326
6601561
3D15F4CB-1839-41FC-BECE-BAE2D8F87CB5
Tridentiger trigonocephalus
(
Gill, 1859
)
(
Fig. 9
)—Chameleon Goby
Triaenophorus trigonocephalus
Gill, 1859: 18
;
type
locality:
Hong Kong
.
Size. Reaches
11 cm
total length.
Morphology. D VI + I,11–13; A I,10–12;
P 19–20, single uppermost ray free
. Body moderately elongate, nearly round anteriorly and laterally compressed posteriorly, depth
5.3–5.8 in
standard length. Head large, somewhat depressed, with relatively short blunt snout. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. First to fifth spines of first dorsal fin subequal in length, none elongate. Pelvic fins joined to form a disc. Caudal fin rounded, shorter than head (
Boltachev & Karpova 2017
). Scales present on body, usually poorly visible on photographs. No scales on head and prepectoral area; predorsal area naked.
Live coloration.
Body brown to beige, usually with 2 continuous or interrupted dark brown stripes
(
Fig. 9
), first beginning from just above orbit, continuing along back and ending at upper caudal-fin base, second stripe extending from snout through eye along mid-side of body ending at caudal-fin midbase. Side of head with small pale spots.
Another color form with stripes interrupted by pale interspaces, short brown bars on back and the black spot on upper caudal peduncle visible
. A third color form is blackish with indistinct stripes.
Similar species.
Gobius vittatus
.
Habitat. Inhabits sand and stone bottoms in marine and brackish waters at depths of
1–5 m
.
Geographic distribution. Native distribution range is confined to
Japan
,
Korea
and
China
. Introduced to eastern Pacific,
Australia
and Black Sea in the Sevastopol Bay (
Boltachev & Karpova 2017
). In the Mediterranean there is a single record from Ashdod,
Israel
(
Goren
et al
. 2009
).