Gobius couchi Miller & El-Tawil, 1974

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 : 55

Gobius couchi Miller & El-Tawil, 1974 ( Fig. 43 )—Couch’s Goby

Gobius couchi Miller & El-Tawil, 1974: 546 , type locality: England, English Channel, Cornwall, Helford .

Size. Known adult size about 7–9 cm total length.

Morphology. D V–VI + I,12–14; A I,11–13; P 15–18. Relatively small goby. Snout short and with a steep profile. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height; first dorsal fin with a relatively rounded shape, the dorsal spines often slightly prolonged (membranes slightly incised between the spines); in breeding males, both dorsal fins have prolonged free tips on spines and rays, and deeply incised interradial membranes ( Fig. 42 ). Caudal fin rounded. Scales present on body and on predorsal area, usually visible on photographs, at least on body ( Renoult et al. 2022).

Live coloration. Body gray, light brown or olive with mottled or reticulated pattern ( Fig. 43 ). Lateral midline is always darker, formed by a longitudinal series of small black spots. One black spot on the corner of the mouth, usually followed by 2 more or less rectangular dark spots on lower cheek ( Fig. 42 ).

Similar species. Gobius niger .

Habitat. Infralittoral species, known from 1–20 m depth on soft bottoms with algae or marine plants and shelters such as rocks and holes. In the Mediterranean, it is generally found in sheltered bays, often associated with Cymodocea nodosa ( Pillon et al. 2016 b, 2019; Patzner 2021).

Geographic distribution. Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Sea. In the Atlantic, known from Ireland, the south of Great Britain and northern Brittany, France ( Miller & El-Tawil 1974; Baldock & Kay 2012; Iglésias et al. 2020). In the Mediterranean Sea, recorded from Cadaquès, Spain ( Renoult et al. 2021a), Port-Vendres and Saint-Mandrier, France ( Louisy 2005; Iglésias et al. 2021b), Liguria, Italy ( Liu et al. 2009a), Ischia Island, Italy ( Stefanni & Mazzoldi 1999), Malta (Kovačić et al. 2013), Croatia ( Kovačić 2001; Kovačić et al. 2012b), Corfu Island, Greece ( Šanda & Kovačić 2009), Crete (Kovačić et al. 2011), Cyprus ( Kovačić & Golani 2007a) and southern part of the Dardanelles Strait, Turkey ( Özen et al. 2009). In the Black Sea, from Crimea ( Karpova & Boltachev 2018).

Figures

FIGURE 42. One black spot on the corner of the mouth, usually followed by two elongated dots on ventral border of the cheek (all marked with arrows) in G. couchi. Photo by M. Kovačić.

FIGURE 43. Live coloration in its natural habitat of Gobius couchi. Photo by R. Pillon, Rab Island, Croatia, Northern Adriatic Sea.