Gobio artvinicus

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 252-254

Gobio artvinicus

Common name. Colchic gudgeon.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Gobio in West Asia by: ○ 39–42 total lateral-line scales / ○ chest between pectorals naked or covered by scales / ○ scales on belly approximately equal or slightly larger than pupil diameter / ○ scales on base of pectoral usually embedded / ○ pectoral reaching 3–4 scales in front of pelvic origin in mature male / ○ head length 24–26 % SL / ○ head width at anterior eye-margin 11–12 % SL / ○ distance between pelvic origin and anal origin 2.8–3.3 times in distance between anus and anal origin / ○ 6 scales rows between lateral line and dorsal origin / ○ 4–5 scales between lateral line and anal origin / ○ 4–6 scales between anus and anal origin / ○ 5–6 scales between posterior extremity of pelvic base and anus / ○ interorbital distance 1.1–1.6 times in eye diameter /

G. delyamurei , G. holurus , G. krymensis , G. brevicirris , and Asian G. caucasicus , form a cluster of populations that also require taxonomic revision. The biology of West Asian gudgeons is poorly understood, but it is thought that they behave similarly to the few European species studied. They spawn at night in the open water column of lakeshores or fast-flowing sections of streams and rivers. The sticky eggs drift a short distance with the current. Larvae are benthic, and females are fractional spawners that reproduce over a long period in spring and summer. They reach maturity after the first or second winter and live for about 3–8 years, feeding on a wide range of benthic invertebrates digging out from fine substrates as mud and sand.

○ snout pointed, not or slightly concave anterior to nostril / ○ 5–8 mid-lateral blotches. Size up to 107 mm SL.

Distribution. Eastern Black Sea basin from Rioni ( Georgia) south to Çoruh ( Türkiye). Non-native and spreading in Kura and Aras drainages.

Habitat. A wide range of lowland and foothill streams and rivers, usually in slow to moderately fast-flowing waters on sand or gravel bottoms. Absent from high altitude streams with fast currents and low water temperatures.

Biology. No data.

Conservation status. LC.

Remarks. This species is much more variable than originally described, and the diagnostic characters need to be

Gobio baliki ; Büyük Melen drainage, Türkiye; 86 mm SL.

re-examined in the future. While fish from the Çoruh have a bare or incompletely scaled chest, the scales of populations from the Rioni and the Caspian basin cover the chest. There is some confusion about this species with G. caucasicus , which occurs in the adjacent Caucasian Black Sea basin and Caspian basin of Russia, and G. artvinicus is likely a synonym of G. caucasicus .

Further reading. Turan et al. 2016a (description); Epitashvili et al. 2020 (distribution); Kaya et al. 2020a (distribution); Yeşilçiçek 2022a (size).

Gobio baliki Conservation status. VU; seems to be in decline due to Common name. Melen gudgeon. many threats.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Gobio in Further reading. Turan et al. 2017a (description).

Anatolia by: ○ 40–42 total lateral-line scales / ○ chest com-

pletely scaled, scales extending forward to isthmus / ○ head

length 24–28 % SL / ○ body depth at dorsal origin 18–22 %

SL / ○ distance between anus and anal origin 7–10 % SL /

○ numerous small black spots on head / ○ depth of anal

approximately equal to length of pelvic / ○ snout pointed

/ ○ 6–7 scales rows between lateral line and dorsal origin /

○ 4–5 scales between lateral line and anal origin / ○ 5–6

scales between anus and anal origin / ○ 5–6 scales between

posterior extremity of pelvic base and anus / ○ 8–9 mid-

lateral blotches. Size up to 93 mm SL.

Distribution. Türkiye: Büyük Melen drainage.

Habitat. Streams and small rivers with fast-flowing water

on sandy or gravelly bottoms.

Biology. No data.

Gobio caucasicus ; Sochi, Russia; ~ 70 mm SL.