Identification of Mediterranean marine gobies (Actinopterygii: Gobiidae) of the continental shelf from photographs of in situ individuals

Abstract

Numerous photographs of live fishes posted by anglers and divers on social media and citizen science databases are important sources of information for ichthyological research. However, validating records that extend the known ecology and bathymetric or geographic distribution of species should rely on a rigorous identification process. The family Gobiidae, with their small size, superficial resemblance among species and high species richness are particularly difficult to identify. Therefore, the identification from photographs of live individuals of Mediterranean marine gobies from the continental shelf was studied. A dichotomous identification key is provided based on photographs of live individuals, allowing positive identification of 41 out of the 66 species reviewed in this publication. Then, for all 66 species we provide a brief description of important characters, which can be used for provisional identification for those species that could not be positively identified using the key. Pending further progress in identification of live individuals, we suggest that records extending the known geographic and ecological species distribution be taken into account only if they could be validated using the dichotomous identification key.

New and interesting records of marine fishes (Actinopterygii) from the Maltese Islands (central Mediterranean)

“…No cave or rock fissure or any other similar feature was present in the vicinity of this individual. Given that the literature indicates that T. ephippiatus is typical of cave habitats, crevices, overhangs or deep gullies (Bussotti and Guidetti 2009;Bussotti et al 2015;Ragkousis et al 2021;Kovačić et al 2022), the occurrence of this species outside this type of habitat is unusual. Thorogobius ephippiatus is a new record for Maltese coastal waters; it is a NE Atlantic and Mediterranean species.…”

“…Thorogobius ephippiatus is a new record for Maltese coastal waters; it is a NE Atlantic and Mediterranean species. In the Mediterranean its distribution appears to be mostly along the northern shores of both west and east basins including the Aegean Sea, Cyprus, and Israel (Kovačić et al 2022). According to Froese and Pauly (2022), the depth range for T. ephippiatus is 6-40 m, with the fish being commonest in the 6-12 m range.…”

“…The Kovačić and Svensen (2018) stringent version of Bello et al (2014)'s best practice protocol for first records, which includes species diagnosis, was applied. The diagnoses correspond to the minimum combination of characters that differentiate the species from confamiliars in the area (Nielsen 1986;Kovačić et al 2022; also, the photographs of Bythitidae from figures in Dulčić and Kovačić 2020). Taxonomic nomenclature follows Fricke et al (2022).…”

The first record of Gobius incognitus (Actinopterygii: Gobiiformes: Gobiidae) from Malta

“…Terminology of the lateral-line system, morphometric and meristic methods, and meristic abbreviations followed those in KOVAČIĆ & ŠANDA (2016). The identification of the second specimen from the coloration pattern on the photo is based on the coloration characters in KOVAČIĆ (2020) and KOVAČIĆ et al (2022).…”

Identification of enigmatic Mediterranean fish Gobius ater Bellotti, 1888 (Teleostei: Gobiidae) based on morphology from underwater photographs

“…Nonetheless, 134 years following its description, the species has never been observed in France again, and it is still known from only seven records worldwide (Kovačić & Schembri, 2019). G. ater is also one of the five native Mediterranean gobies with unknown live colouration (Kovačić et al ., 2022). Only Didogobius bentuvii Miller, 1966 could be considered more elusive, being still known only by the holotype 57 years after its description (Kovačić et al ., 2022; Miller, 1986).…”