Pseudaphya ferreri ( de Buen & Fage, 1908 )

Kovačić, Marcelo, Renoult, Julien P., Pillon, Roberto, Svensen, Rudolf, Bogorodsky, Sergey V., Engin, Semih & Louisy, Patrick, 2022, Identification of Mediterranean marine gobies (Actinopterygii: Gobiidae) of the continental shelf from photographs of in situ individuals, Zootaxa 5144 (1), pp. 1-103 : 83

Pseudaphya ferreri ( de Buen & Fage, 1908) ( Fig. 30 )—Ferrer’s Goby

Aphya ferreri de Buen & Fage, 1908: 105 , Fig. 1–5 ; type locality: western Mediterranean Sea , Spain, vicinity of Mahon .

Size. Maximum known size 3.5 cm total length (Miller 1986)

Morphology. D V + I,7–10; A I,9–10; P 15–16 ( Miller 1973). Pedomorphic habitus. Body laterally compressed, slender compared to other gobies. Large lateral eyes, wide interorbital space. Mouth superior, oblique, tip of lower jaw reaching the horizontal level of pupil. Caudal peduncle slender, distinctly lower than body depth. The first dorsal fin about equal to or lower than second dorsal fin, with more or less rounded margin. Dorsal fins widely separate with a broad interdorsal space. Pelvic disc complete with anterior membrane. Caudal fin truncate to slightly emarginate. Scales present, but usually not visible on photographs.

Live coloration. Body semitranslucent with 4 elongate black markings along vertebral column and a large, conspicuous, triangular black spot at the base of caudal fin ( Fig. 30 ). A series of small black dots along lower margin of posterior body; white superficial speckles and markings in variable amounts.

Similar species. Pomatoschistus quagga , P. bathi .

Habitat. Pelagic and neritic species, recorded over coarse sand, muddy sand or partially sand covered bedrock from 2.5–20 m depth (Miller 1986; Kovačić 2003; Le Bris et al. 2016).

Geographic distribution. Mediterranean. Recorded from the northwestern Mediterranean, the Adriatic Sea, northeastern Aegean Sea and northern Sinai, Egypt (Miller 1986; Kovačić & Golani 2007b; Engin et al. 2018a).

Figures

FIGURE 1. A) Freshly dead coloration of Trypauchen vagina. Photo by D. Darom, trawled between Hadera and Atlit, Israel. B) Photo of Trypauchen sp. alive, photo by C. Telford, Thailand.

FIGURE 2. Head and predorsal area completely covered with oval to rounded, clearly defined spots. Photos by M. Kovačić, S.V. Bogorodsky, R. Pillon.

FIGURE 3. Live coloration in its natural habitat of Cryptocentrus caeruleopunctatus. Photo by S.V. Bogorodsky, Lahami Bay, Egypt, Red Sea.

FIGURE 4. Live coloration in its natural habitat of Vanderhorstia mertensi. Photo by R. Pillon, Kondyli beach, Peloponnese, Greece.

FIGURE 5. Live coloration in its natural habitat of Thorogobius ephippiatus. Photo by S. Guerrieri, Tuscany, Italy.

FIGURE 30. Live coloration in its natural habitat of Pseudaphya ferreri. Photo by S. Guerrieri, Rijeka, Croatia, Northern Adriatic Sea.