The new distribution records of recently described gobies: Aegean Sea records for Pomatoschistus nanus Engin & Seyhan Öztürk, 2017 and easternmost records of Buenia massutii Kovačić, Ordines & Schliewen, 2017

Abstract

The smallest fish of the Mediterranean Sea, pygmaean goby, Pomatoschistus nanus, and Massuti's goby, Buenia massutii, were obtained from new locations. While P. nanus specimens were collected from both the north-eastern and south-eastern Aegean Sea, B. massutii specimens were collected from two different sub-basins, Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea, representing the first report of this species in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The species were identified by both morphological and molecular techniques. The present paper contributes to filling gaps in the knowledge of the limited distribution of these species in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Cytochrome b Sequencing as a Tool for Identification of Morphologically Similar Mediterranean Gobies Gobius incognitus and Gobius bucchichi (Actinopterygii: Gobiidae)

“…The knowledge about the diversity of the gobies in the Mediterranean Sea is still unsatisfactory, as documented by a description of a number of new species in the last years, e.g., [4][5][6][7][8][9]. Usually, new species were first discovered in a small geographic area, but subsequently, they were found in even geographically considerably distant localities [10][11][12][13][14][15], indicating that they are rather widespread, and that the knowledge about their distribution could be improved by increased research effort [16]. Furthermore, some of the new species were described from greater depths or are typical cryptobenthic species that are difficult to sample by conventional fishing methods, but also by SCUBA divers (e.g., by active sampling methods or by a photographic evidence).…”

“…Molecular methods were used in numerous studies on gobies from the Mediterranean Sea and in general from Europe. Most of the studies focused on taxonomy or distribution, e.g., [4][5][6][7][8][9]11,12,14,15,18,28,[30][31][32]. Several studies deal with phylogenetic relationships, e.g., [33][34][35][36], and also the population genetic structure and phylogeography were investigated for several species, e.g., [37][38][39][40][41][42][43].…”