Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas, 1814)

Zarei, Fatah, Esmaeili, Hamid Reza, Abbasi, Keyvan, Kovačić, Marcelo, Schliewen, Ulrich K. & Stepien, Carol A., 2022, Gobies (Teleostei: Gobiidae) of the oldest and deepest Caspian Sea sub-basin: an evidence-based annotated checklist and a key for species identification, Zootaxa 5190 (2), pp. 151-193 : 175-176

28. Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas, 1814) ( Fig. 24 ), Round Goby

Gobius melanostomus Pallas, 1814: 151 ; type locality: Sevastopol, Balaklava , Ukraine ; types: no types known.

Etymology: Greek, melanos = black + Greek, stoma = mouth, means black-mouthed, but might be thought to refer to the conspicuous black spot typically present on the rear part of first dorsal fin.

Distribution and habitat: Widely distributed in the Ponto-Caspian basin ( Fig. 22C ). Present in all three areas of the Caspian Sea and entering various rivers of the Caspian Sea drainage. A benthic euryhaline species, inhabiting from the entirely of freshwaters of rivers and lakes to brackish polyhaline salinities ( Pinchuk et al. 2003d). Laboratory experiments by Karsiotis et al. (2012) discerned broad salinity tolerances in the population that has established in the central Laurentian Great Lakes of North America, from 0–20 ppt, even without acclimation. This indicates high osmoregulatory capability.

Remarks: Navozov (1912) distinguished the Caspian N. melanostomus as a separate subspecies, N. m. affinis Eichwald, 1831. Molecular data by Zarei et al. (2021) suggested three allopatric lineages, with shallow genealogical separations: (i) the Caspian Sea basin lineage corresponding to N. m. affinis; (ii) a second lineage from the Black Sea basin (native range), European and North American locations (invasive samples) corresponding to the typological subspecies; and (iii) a third lineage distributed in Sinop, northern Turkey (Southern Black Sea basin).

Material examined: ZM-CBSU S031, 108, off Astara ; ZM-CBSU S035, 1, Anzali Wetland ; ZM-CBSU S035, 6, off Anzali ; ZM-CBSU S059, 42, Sefidroud mouth, Gilan Province, Iran .

IUCN: LC ( Freyhof & Kottelat 2008i).

Figures

FIGURE 22. Distribution of (A) Neogobius bathybius, (B) Neogobius caspius, (C) Neogobius melanostomus, and (D) Neogobius pallasi.

FIGURE 24. Neogobius melanostomus. Off Anzali, Gilan Province, Iran.