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
Deltentosteus quadrimaculatus
(Valenciennes, 1837)
(
Fig. 52
)—Four-spotted Goby
Gobius quadrimaculatus
Valenciennes
in
Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1837: 44
;
type
locality:
northwestern Mediterranean Sea
,
France
,
Nice
.
Size. Maximum size
8 cm
total length (Miller 1986).
Morphology.
D VI + I,8–9; A I,8–9; P 17–18
(Miller 1986). Moderately small goby with subcylindrical body, laterally compressed towards caudal fin, head slightly depressed and moderately large. Snout large, gently sloping. Eyes large. Mouth superior, oblique, tip of lower jaw at the horizontal level of eye.
Angle of jaws below anterior half of orbit.
Predorsal area and nape scaled. Caudal peduncle slender, lower than body depth. The first dorsal fin higher than the second, but with no elongated spines, except in adult males where the second spine is elongated and filamentous (Miller 1986). Caudal fin rounded to truncate.
Live coloration. Body mainly brown or beige dorsally with
5 pale dorsal saddles, faint with no black outlines, each terminating with a midlateral dark blotch
. These midlateral dark blotches of irregular shape, less than 1/3 of body height (
Fig. 52
).
Caudal-fin base mark T-shaped and higher than other midlateral marks, covering about entire caudal peduncle height
(
Fig. 52
). Ventral half of body whitish. Females may display a pale blue dot on nape just behind eyes, partly circled in brown.
The first dorsal fin with a black spot distally between fifth and sixth spines
(
Fig. 52a
), and with three pronounced dark streaks along first dorsal spine in males (
Fig. 52b
) (
Miller & Loates 1997
;
Louisy 2015
;
Pillon
et al
. 2016a
).
Similar species.
Deltentosteus collonianus
,
Pomatoschistus adriaticus
,
P
.
marmoratus
,
P
.
minutus
.
Habitat. Infralittoral to circalittoral species, known from
2–150 m
on soft bottoms, mostly sand, also on mud (
Louisy 2015
;
Pillon
et al
. 2016a
;
Patzner 2021
).
Geographic distribution. Mediterranean and adjacent Atlantic Ocean: in the Mediterranean, from
Gibraltar
along northern coast to the Levant; in the Atlantic, from Galicia to
Morocco
(Miller 1986).