taxonID	type	description	language	source
616687CB3F1CFF8BFF76FECDFDA7FBD1.taxon	description	Morphology. D IV – VI + I, 11 – 13; A I, 11 – 15; P 15 – 19. Pedomorphic habitus. Body laterally compressed. Eyes lateral, interorbital wide. Mouth superior, oblique, tip of lower jaw at the horizontal level of pupil. Caudal peduncle slender in females, deeper in males, lower than body height. Dorsal fins distant from each other, with a broad interdorsal space. The first dorsal fin small, roughly of trapezoid or parallelogram shape. Second dorsal fin high, with moderately short base and ray lengths decreasing posteriorly giving the fin triangular appearance, at least in females. Pelvic disc complete (Miller 1986; Patzner 2021). Caudal fin truncate to slightly emarginate. Scales present, but not usually visible on photographs. Live coloration. Body translucent, usually with a row of melanophores along anal-fin base, no triangular black spot at the base of caudal fin and no well-defined black spots laterally on abdomen (Fig. 31). Similar species. Crystallogobius linearis. Habitat. Pelagic and neritic species, widely distributed in inshore and estuarine waters from the surface to 80 – 100 m depth over sand, mud, sea-weed (Cystoseira spp.) and over seagrasses (Zostera marina and Posidonia oceanica) (La Mesa et al. 2005). Geographic distribution. The northeastern Atlantic, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the western Baltic and the coasts of Norway, as well as in the Mediterranean, including the Adriatic Sea, Black Sea and Azov Sea (La Mesa et al. 2005; Boltachev & Karpova 2017).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F1CFF8BFF76FB07FBACF8A2.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 10; A I, 9; P 18 – 19; body stout, moderately elongate and somewhat laterally compressed, body depth 5.2 – 5.6 in standard length. Head subcylindrical, snout short, obtuse. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin with more or less rounded margin and first to fifth spines longest, not elongate. Pelvic fins united to form a disc. Caudal fin rounded, subequal to head length. Body and nape covered with scales. Scales prominent, visible on body and predorsal area, head naked except for dorsal part of operculum (Kimura et al. 2018). Fresh coloration. Body dark grayish brown with many small bright green spots, small black spots on side of abdomen and usually a diffuse blue-green mark above posterior part of opercle; a small black spot at upper caudal-fin base (Fig. 48). Similar species. Dark males of Gobius niger and G. paganellus. Habitat. Inhabits brackish estuaries or shallow sandy areas. Geographic distribution. In the Indian Ocean known only from Kerala, southwestern India (based on the specimen CAS 29748 identified by H. Larson), not recorded in the Red Sea. Also reported from the Gulf of Thailand, western Indonesia, Vietnam, and China in the western Pacific Ocean. Mediterranean records of the species are based on specimens collected from Port Said and Damietta, Egypt (Akel & Rizkalla 2017).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F1FFF88FF76FBE7FF00F80E.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 8; A I, 7; P 15 – 16 (Kovačić 2002 b). Small goby with subcylindrical body, laterally compressed towards caudal fin. Head slightly depressed and fairly long. Eyes large and close together, with narrow interorbital space. Caudal peduncle slender, clearly lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height, first dorsal fin more or less with rounded edge with no elongate spines. Caudal fin rounded. Scales visible on upper body only by reticulate pattern of pigmentation along scale edges. Live coloration. Body dorsally mainly brown or beige with 4 – 5 well-defined, usually dark-edged, pale dorsal saddles, each terminating with a midlateral dark blotch; ventral half of body abruptly white with 10 – 12 narrow brownish bars (Fig. 41). The cheek below orbit with darkened rectangular area formed by many small close-set dark dots. Typically 2 parallel dark dashes between eye and upper lip (Fig. 41 a): lower one broad and always visible, the upper one thin and sometimes hard to see (Fig. 41 b). Iris and eye rim dark gray to dark brown, often with well-defined light gray dots (Fig. 41). First dorsal fin very lightly pigmented, sometimes appearing transparent. When visible, fin with 2 white longitudinal stripes alternating with 3 brown-yellow bands; sometimes small blackish dot in the posterior fin corner. No specific sexual dichromatism reported (Kovačić 2002 b). Similar species. Buenia massutii, Pomatoschistus adriaticus, P. bathi, P. quagga. Habitat. Infralittoral and circalittoral species, known from 1 – 48 m depth on coarse and medium grain sand bottoms (Kovačić 2002 b; Kovačić et al. 2018). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean Sea. Recorded from the Balearic Islands (Kovačić et al. 2018), France (Kovačić & Patzner 2009; Duhau et al. 2019; P. Louisy & P. Renoult, unpublished observations), Naples (Sanzo 1911), Croatia in the Kvarner area (Kovačić 2002 b) and Mljet Island (Kovačić et al. 2012 b), Turkey, from Yeni Foça-Çakmaklý Island, Izmir in the Aegean Sea and Erdek-Horkos Island in the Sea of Marmara (Engin et al. 2014).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F1EFF8EFF76FF11FE30FE68.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 7; A I, 6 – 7; P 16 – 17 (Kovačić et al. 2017 a; Ordines et al. 2019 a, 2019 b). Small goby with subcylindrical body, laterally compressed towards caudal fin. Head slightly depressed and fairly long. Eyes large and close together, with narrow interorbital space. Caudal peduncle slender, clearly lower than body height. Second spine of first dorsal fin elongate in males, reaching to or behind posterior end of the second dorsal fin when folded down. Caudal fin rounded. Scales present, visibility on live specimens unknown. Freshly dead coloration. Head and body yellowish white to dusky white with scattered yellow, orange and dark brown markings. Body with 5 black marks, the first one over abdomen below first dorsal fin, three short vertical black marks at and below lateral midline and fifth longer vertical mark on caudal-fin base (Fig. 49 a). Eyes grayish to brownish, occasionally with small pale gray dots. A rectangular area of small close-set dark dots below eye. Similar species. Buenia affinis. Habitat. Circalittoral, on Peyssonnelia and maerl red algae beds, coarse sand and deep-sea oyster shell remains bottoms from around 50 m to 116 m depth (Kovačić et al. 2017 a; Ordines et al. 2019 a, 2019 b). A small individual photographed at 41 m depth on detritic sand (Fig. 49 B) might be this species (Rufray et al. 2021). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean and adjacent Atlantic Ocean: Gulf of Cádiz, Atlantic; Alboran Island, Águilas and off Balearic Islands, Spain (Kovačić et al. 2017 a; Ordines et al. 2019 a, 2019 b); possibly southern France (Rufray et al. 2021).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F19FF8EFF76FE5CFD3EFAE9.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 8 – 11; A I, 7 – 9; P 16 – 18 (Miller 1971). Small goby with elongate body. Head clearly depressed (distinctly dorsoventrally flattened), head and predorsal profile horizontal (Fig. 23 a). Snout prominent and mouth opening upwards (Fig. 23 a). Caudal peduncle deep, almost as high as body. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin may be slightly higher in appearance, with more or less rounded shape and no elongate spines. Caudal fin rounded. Live coloration. Body fawn, brown or blackish with a broad pale predorsal bar extending ventrally on pectoral-fin base (Fig. 24), in some specimens indistinct. No pale saddle at origin of the first dorsal fin, prominent to poorly visible white saddle at origin of the second dorsal fin (Fig. 24 a), while another short saddle may be present below posterior part of that fin (Fig. 24 b). Tip of lower jaw, top of snout and interorbital space grayish or white. Head usually with reticulate pattern, including cheeks (Fig. 24 a), or cheeks densely dotted (Fig. 23 a) (Colombo & Langeneck 2013; Boltachev & Karpova 2017; Trkov et al. 2019). Scales present, small, at best visible on body as pattern of pale dots. Similar species. Chromogobius zebratus. Habitat. Infralittoral species, 0 – 2 m depth on rocky shores, in clefts, below stones, hidden in biocover, in the Black Sea also in brackish waters (Kovačić 1997; Patzner 2021). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean and Black Sea (Miller 1986; Ahnelt 1990; Colombo & Langeneck 2013; Boltachev & Karpova 2017). In the Mediterranean Sea, there are records from northwestern Mediterranean, Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea and Levant (Miller 1986).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F19FF8FFF76FADFFDC4FE84.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 11; A I, 9 – 10; P 15 – 17 (Miller 1971, Alberto & Nieto 1993). Head clearly depressed (distinctly dorsoventrally flattened), head and predorsal profile horizontal (Fig. 23 a). Snout prominent and mouth opening upwards (Fig. 23 a). Caudal peduncle deep, almost as deep as body. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin may be slightly higher in appearance, with more or less rounded shape and no elongate spines. Caudal fin rounded. Scales present, small, at best visible on body as pattern of pale dots. Live coloration. Body pale brown with a broad, pale to dusky bar on predorsal area extending ventrally on pectoral-fin base, and 5 or 6 faint pale saddles, distinctly to poorly visible, from origin of the first dorsal fin to just behind second dorsal fin, usually continuing to below side as faint bars half the width of dark interspaces (Fig. 25); cheeks pale with 2 oblique dark bands radiating downwards from eye in the shape of an inverted V or a triangular mark (Fig. 23 b); base of pectoral fin with a narrow black bar preceded by a white or yellowish bar across fin rays (Miller 1971). Similar species. Chromogobius quadrivittatus. Habitat. Infralittoral species, known from 0.5 – 20 m depth on rocky shores. Inside boulder fields, clefts, cavities, also under individual stones and boulders of various size (Kovačić 1997; Engin & Dalgýç 2008; Patzner 2021), and in intertidal pools (Alberto & Nieto 1993). Geographic distribution. Northeastern Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Sea. Northeastern Atlantic near Gibraltar (Alberto & Nieto 1993). In the Mediterranean Sea, there are records from western Mediterranean (Bouchereau & Tomasini 1989; Iglésias et al. 2020), Sicily (Miller 1986), Malta (Kovačić & Schembri 2019), Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea, Levant (Miller 1986). The species is also known from the Black Sea (Engin & Dalgýç 2008; Boltachev & Karpova 2017).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F18FF8FFF76FE30FEF2FA79.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 9; A I, 7 – 9; P 15 – 16. A very small species with a somewhat elongated body; head not particularly flattened. Caudal peduncle deep, almost as high as body. Caudal fin rounded. First dorsal fin pointed (first spine longest), at least in males (Miller 1972; Miller 1986; Ahnelt et al. 1994; Herler et al. 1999 a; Louisy 2015). Live coloration. Background coloration brick red (may vary from dark reddish brown to orangish brown, rarely yellowish) with numerous narrow, transverse, bright blue to dark blue bars (usually 10 to 15 visible on body), becoming more irregular on top of head (Fig. 21). Head sometimes darker, especially in males. Three continuous pale to bluish, more or less radiating bars extend from lower eye to underside of head (Fig. 20 a). When present, dark branchiostegal spots located on lower head below each opercle are diagnostic (Fig. 21). Anterior nostril tube not contrastingly white. Dorsal fins usually bear rows of dark reddish spots that may coalesce in slightly oblique lines (Ahnelt et al. 1994; Ahnelt & Patzner 1996; Herler et al. 1999 a; Louisy 2015). Scales visible on body only by reticulate pattern of pigmentation along scale edges. Similar species. Odondebuenia balearica, Vanneaugobius dollfusi. Habitat. Infralittoral and circalittoral species known from 0.5 to about 40 m depth, being most common in 3 – 25 m depth. It is mostly found in sciaphilous areas of bedrock habitats, mainly on the walls and ceilings of caves, cavities or overhangs. The species has also occasionally been observed or collected below stones, in coralligenous habitats or on coralline grounds (Patzner 1999 a; Francour et al. 2010; Kovac ̌ icì et al. 2012 a; Louisy 2015; Bilecenog ̆ lu 2016; Engin et al. 2018 a; Ragkousis et al. 2021). Geographic distribution. Northern Mediterranean, known from the Balearic Islands (Ahnelt et al. 1994; Ahnelt & Patzner 1996) to the Aegean Sea (Kovačić et al. 2011; Gerovasileiou et al. 2015; Bilecenog ̆ lu 2016; Engin et al. 2018; Ragkousis et al. 2021), including France at Marseilles (Scsepka & Ahnelt 1999), Corsica (Francour et al. 2010), French Riviera (Menut et al. 2019), Tyrrhenian Sea, Elba (Ahnelt et al. 1998) and Adriatic Sea (Kovačić et al. 2012 b).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F18FF8CFF76FA6FFF0EFE6B.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 10 – 11; A I, 9 – 10; P 16 – 18, the uppermost 2 rays free of membrane. Body moderately elongate, the depth 4.3 – 5.5 in standard length. Head subcylindrical, with a short rounded snout. The second spine of first dorsal fin longest, with very short filament in males. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. Pelvic fins united to form a disc. Caudal fin rounded, shorter than head. Scales ctenoid to below origin of first dorsal fin, cycloid ventrally on abdomen, no scales on head, chest, predorsal and prepectoral areas. Scales visible on dead specimens by reticulate pattern of pigmentation along scale edges, visibility on live specimens unknown. Fresh coloration. Greenish or brownish gray, scale edges dark brown, scales on lower body outlined with orange (Fig. 50); a series of indistinct light brown blotches along back, the first on nape, ending at origin of first dorsal fin; side of body with a series of 7 indistinct blackish blotches; head with three blackish spots or double spots below eye, side of head with irregular small orange spots; first dorsal fin with 2 or 3 curved oblique crossbands; pectoral fins with 2 blackish spots at base; pelvic fins blackish (visible also on Fig. 50). Similar species. Millerigobius macrocephalus, Zebrus zebrus, Zebrus pallaoroi. Habitat. Inhabits shallow water, isolated hard substrate but found occasionally on sand bottom (Goren 1985). Geographic distribution. Reported from the Red Sea: Egypt (Suez Canal, Gulf of Suez, and Ras Muhammad), Saudi Arabia (Ras Hatiba) and Eritrea (Dahlak Archipelago). A single record in the Mediterranean Sea from Port Said, Egypt (Norman 1927), one specimen was collected from the Bardawil lagoon, Egypt (Kovačić & Golani 2007 b).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F1BFF8DFF76FA60FCEFFE68.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 10; A I, 9; P 17. Body moderately elongate, the depth about 5 times in standard length. Head subcylindrical, snout short and blunt. Eyes elevated above dorsal profile of head (Fig. 3). Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. Spines of first dorsal fin not elongate. Second dorsal fin higher than the first (Fig. 3). Pelvic fins joined medially, reaching anus. Caudal fin rounded, its length about equal to head length (Goren 1979). Body covered with scales; no scales on head, prepelvic area, and pectoral-fin base, but scales poorly or not visible on live specimen photographs (Fig. 3). Live coloration. Grayish brown, grading posteriorly to dark olive-brown with deep red blue-edged spots subequal to pupil size on head, anterior body, and dorsal fins; dorsal half of body with 2 dark spots of about eye size, circled with blue-green dots, one under middle of first dorsal fin and one below fourth or fifth dorsal-fin soft ray; a series of 7 oblique pale lines with blue dots on mid and rear body; head with an irregular dark red bar, edged with blue-green, extending ventrally from eye (Fig. 3). The anal and paired fins olivaceous, with small pale yellowish spots, those on anal fin mainly in 2 rows along base (Fig. 3). Similar species. No similar species in the Mediterranean. Habitat. Silty to coarse sand bottom, generally adjacent to sheltered reefs or seagrass beds, but also in calm seaward areas from depths of 2 – 24 m. Shares a burrow with snapping shrimps. Geographic distribution. Restricted to the Red Sea and Gulf of Tadjoura, Djibouti. Reported from the eastern Mediterranean coast of Israel (Rothman & Goren 2015).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F1AFF8DFF76FE5DFB3DFB21.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 10; A I, 9; P 15. Body elongate, the depth 6.5 in standard length. Head subcylindrical, snout short and blunt. Eyes elevated above dorsal profile of head (Fig. 46). Caudal peduncle slender, clearly lower than body height. Third and fourth spines of first dorsal fin longest, elongate. Second dorsal fin subequal in height to first fin. Pelvic fins joined medially, reaching anus. Caudal fin rounded, clearly longer than head length (Fig. 46). Body covered with scales; no scales on head and pectoral-fin base, but scales not visible or poorly visible on live specimen photographs. Live coloration. Body whitish or yellowish with three slightly oblique brown bars (Fig. 46), the first below first dorsal fin, second and third below anterior and posterior part of second dorsal fin respectively, large irregular brown spot or bar at caudal-fin base, and scattered brown spots about pupil size in pale interspaces; predorsal area, nape and dorsal part of opercle with small irregular dark brown blotches. Similar species. Oxyurichthys petersii. Habitat. In the Mediterranean, inhabits soft substrata of open sand areas at depths of 11 – 80 m; observed to share a burrow with snapping shrimps (Goren & Stern 2021; P. Louisy unpublished observations). Geographic distribution. At present is known only from three specimens caught in the eastern Mediterranean off the southern Israeli coast and underwater photographs taken in southern Turkey at Kas (Goren & Stern 2021; present study), recently was photographed in the Red Sea at Eilat, Israel (Bogorodsky & Goren, in prep.).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F1AFF8DFF76FA97FA68F86A.taxon	description	Morphology. DII – III in male, 0 or rudimentary in female + I, 18 – 20; A I, 20 – 21; P 15 – 16 (Miller 1986). Pedomorphic habitus. Body laterally compressed, slender compared to other gobies. Eyes lateral, interorbital wide. Mouth superior, oblique, tip of lower jaw at the horizontal level of pupil. Caudal peduncle almost as deep as body. First dorsal fin reduced or absent. If present, distant from the second fin with a broad interdorsal space. Second dorsal fin low, long-based and with subequal ray lengths. Pelvic disc complete in male, reduced or lacking in female. Caudal fin slightly emarginate. Scales absent. Live coloration. Body transparent to translucent white; a row of melanophores along anal-fin base; side of abdomen with the longitudinal row of 3 – 4 well defined tiny black spots; no triangular black spot at the base of caudal fin (Fig. 32). Similar species. Aphia minuta. Habitat. Nectonic, coastal to offshore in 400 m, over shell, sand, mud (Miller 1986). Geographic distribution. Northeastern Atlantic, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the coasts of Norway, as well as in the Mediterranean, from the Alboran Sea to northeastern Aegean Sea including the Adriatic Sea (Miller 1986).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F05FF93FF76FF11FBFBFD2F.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 10 – 11; A I, 10 – 11; P 17 (Miller 1986; Kovačić & Golani 2007 b). Moderately small goby with subcylindrical body, laterally compressed towards caudal fin, head slightly depressed and moderately large. Snout large and pointed. Eyes lateral, interorbital moderately wide. Mouth superior, oblique, tip of lower jaw at horizontal level of pupil. Angle of jaws below rear half of orbit. Predorsal area and nape scaled. Caudal peduncle slender, lower than body. The first dorsal fin higher than the second dorsal fin, no elongated spines, but breeding males with notably enlarged, sail-shaped, first dorsal fin (Fig. 51 b) (Louisy 2015; Le Bris et al. 2017; 2019 a). Caudal fin truncate to slightly emarginate. Live coloration. Body dorsally mainly brown or beige with 5 pale dorsal saddles, each above a midlateral dark blotch including one at the caudal-fin base (Fig. 51). The saddles on the back generally conspicuous and usually with black anterior and posterior outlines. The midlateral dark blotches of irregular rhomboid to rounded shape, anteriorly about 1 / 3 of body height. Black mark on caudal-fin base triangular and larger than other midlateral marks. Ventral half of body whitish. The first dorsal fin without dark markings in females; one or two black spots on rear margin in males (Le Bris et al. 2017; 2019 a) (Fig. 51). Similar species. Deltentosteus quadrimaculatus, Pomatoschistus adriaticus. Habitat. Infralittoral to circalittoral species, known from 1.5 – 120 m on soft bottoms and seagrass meadows (Miller 1986; Le Bris et al. 2017; Iglésias et al. 2021 b; Patzner 2021). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean and adjacent Atlantic Ocean. D. collonianus is known from the eastern Atlantic coast of Portugal (Miller 1986). In the Mediterranean, it is known from the western basin to the Adriatic Sea (Miller 1986). It was later reported from Levant (Kovačić & Golani 2007 b).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F04FF93FF76FC98FB6FF98A.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 8 – 9; A I, 8 – 9; P 17 – 18 (Miller 1986). Moderately small goby with subcylindrical body, laterally compressed towards caudal fin, head slightly depressed and moderately large. Snout large, gently sloping. Eyes large. Mouth superior, oblique, tip of lower jaw at the horizontal level of eye. Angle of jaws below anterior half of orbit. Predorsal area and nape scaled. Caudal peduncle slender, lower than body depth. The first dorsal fin higher than the second, but with no elongated spines, except in adult males where the second spine is elongated and filamentous (Miller 1986). Caudal fin rounded to truncate. Live coloration. Body mainly brown or beige dorsally with 5 pale dorsal saddles, faint with no black outlines, each terminating with a midlateral dark blotch. These midlateral dark blotches of irregular shape, less than 1 / 3 of body height (Fig. 52). Caudal-fin base mark T-shaped and higher than other midlateral marks, covering about entire caudal peduncle height (Fig. 52). Ventral half of body whitish. Females may display a pale blue dot on nape just behind eyes, partly circled in brown. The first dorsal fin with a black spot distally between fifth and sixth spines (Fig. 52 a), and with three pronounced dark streaks along first dorsal spine in males (Fig. 52 b) (Miller & Loates 1997; Louisy 2015; Pillon et al. 2016 a). Similar species. Deltentosteus collonianus, Pomatoschistus adriaticus, P. marmoratus, P. minutus. Habitat. Infralittoral to circalittoral species, known from 2 – 150 m on soft bottoms, mostly sand, also on mud (Louisy 2015; Pillon et al. 2016 a; Patzner 2021). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean and adjacent Atlantic Ocean: in the Mediterranean, from Gibraltar along northern coast to the Levant; in the Atlantic, from Galicia to Morocco (Miller 1986).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F04FF91FF76F93DFE4CFF18.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 12 – 13; A I, 11; P 17 (Miller 1993; Ballesta et al. 1998). Small goby with elongate body, head depressed and dorsally flattened. Interdorsal space membranous. Caudal peduncle deep, almost as deep as body. Dorsal fins of similar height. The first dorsal fin with more or less rounded margin (second spine the longest but not elongate). Caudal fin rounded. Scales present, small, at best visible on body as pattern of paler dots. Live coloration. Head and body dark brown to purplish with a longitudinal series of 3 – 6 definite white blotches as large as or larger than eye diameter on dorsal half of body and white transverse band in predorsal area; scattered white dots in variable amount on head and sometimes on body; median fins black, outer margin of dorsal fins and posterior margin of caudal fin with a broad white band (Fig. 7) (Ballesta et al. 1998; Louisy 2015; Le Bris et al. 2019 b, 2021). Similar species. Chromogobius quadrivittatus. Habitat. Infralittoral species. Only observed at night among layers of pebbles in rocky gullies or in stony slopes at depths of 1.5 – 14 m; also observed in Posidonia meadows (Miller 1993; Francour 2008; Kampouris et al. 2019; Le Bris et al. 2019 b, 2021; Patzner 2021). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean, with records from the northwestern Mediterranean (Ballesta et al. 1998; Francour 2008; Iglésias et al. 2021 b), Adriatic Sea (Miller 1993; Kovačić 2005), and Greece, Aegean Sea (Kampouris et al. 2019).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F06FF91FF76FECCFB3BFB93.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 9 – 10; A I, 9; P 13 – 16 (Ahnelt & Patzner 1995; Francour 2008). Small goby with stocky body, large depressed head and a gently sloping snout. Caudal peduncle deep, almost as deep as body. The first dorsal fin higher than the second, its first spine longest, giving the fin a triangular shape. Caudal fin rounded. Scales visible on body from reticulate pigmentation pattern along scale edges. Live coloration. Body mostly dark brown with 3 moderately broad whitish to pale grayish bars extending onto ventral half of body, the first bar immediately in front of the first dorsal fin and extending onto ventral half of pectoral fins, plus a very thin one at the base of caudal fin (Fig. 14). First dorsal fin colored like adjacent body, with scattered white flecks and streaks, outer membrane between first two spines white (Louisy 2015, Patzner 2021). Similar species. Gammogobius steinitzi. Habitat. Infralittoral to circalittoral species, known from depth of 4 – 56 m. Present in small cavities in innermost parts of large marine caves and in small bottom caves and cavities. Mostly found lying on the soft sediment in recesses, ready to dive into a nearby hole or crevice (summarized by Francour 2008). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean, there are records from the northwestern Mediterranean (Ahnelt & Patzner 1995; Francour 2008; Iglésias et al. 2021 b), Lampedusa (Stefanni 1999) and Adriatic Sea (Herler & Patzner 2002; Kovačić 2005). A record from Turkey, Aegean Sea (Francour et al. 2007), seems probable but was not substantiated by specimens or photos, later confirmed by Ragkousis et al. (2021) for Aegean Sea.	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F06FF91FF76FB45FA77F864.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 8 – 9; A I, 7 – 9; P 15 – 17 (summarized in Kovtun & Manilo 2013). Small goby with stocky body, large depressed head and a gently sloping snout. Eyes large, with a narrow interorbital space (Fig. 22). Caudal peduncle deep, almost as deep as the body. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin with more or less rounded shape and no elongated spines, all but the sixth spines being subequal in length. Caudal fin rounded. Scales visible on body from reticulate pigmentation pattern along scale edges. Live coloration. Body with barred coloration pattern of 6 – 7 narrow pale bars on a mostly brownish background (Fig. 22). Head brownish with 3 pale, continuous bars extending downwards from eye over cheek and preopercle to ventral side (Fig. 20 b). Fins mostly colorless; some black spots at the base of both dorsal fins, extending as dots along rays or spine s (Fig. 22). Similar species. Corcyrogobius liechtensteini, Didogobius splechtnai. Habitat. Infralittoral species, known from 5 – 25 m in marine caves, more common in deeper water. Mostly inhabits the crevices and holes of cave walls and ceilings (summarized by Patzner 2021). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean and Black Sea. Mediterranean records from the northwestern Mediterranean (Bath 1971), Adriatic Sea (Kovačić 1999), Crete (Kovačić et al. 2011), and Turkey, Aegean Sea (Engin et al. 2018 a; Ragkousis et al. 2021). In the Black Sea, it was recorded in Crimea (Kovtun & Manilo 2013).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F01FF96FF76FF11FC55FC40.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 13 – 15; A I, 12 – 14; P 17 – 20. Medium-sized goby, with a moderately elongate body, laterally compressed, large head, and a short, slightly pointed snout. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal-fin spines decreasing posteriorly, giving fin a triangular shape. Caudal fin rounded. Scales present on body and on predorsal area, usually visible on photographs at least dorsally (Herler et al. 2005; Renoult et al. 2022). Live coloration. Body plain yellow (G. auratu s morph 1) (Fig. 40), except in northern Adriatic (Herler et al. 2005) where the yellow body is covered with numerous orange or red-brown dots forming longitudinal rows, including 3 or 4 rows below the lateral midline (G. auratus morph 2) (Fig. 36). Upper lip unmarked except the dot on the corner of the mouth (Fig. 33 c) (Renoult et al. 2022). Similar species. Morph 1 with no similar species in the Mediterranean. For morph 2: Gobius fallax and G. xanthocephalus. Habitat. Infralittoral and circalittoral species known from 8 – 80 m depth on rocky and coralligenous habitats (Herler & Patzner 2005; Patzner 2021). Geographic distribution. Northern Mediterranean, presently known from the Provence basin in France westwards (Herler et al. 2005) to west of Antalya, Turkey, Levantine Sea (Francour et al. 2007). In the Adriatic, a transition form between the ‘ dotted’ morph (morph 2) and the ‘ plain colored’ morph (morph 1) can be found in the Zadar region in Croatia (R. Pillon and M. Kovačić, unpublished observation).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F01FF97FF76FC77FB45FF18.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 14; A I, 13 – 14; P 17 – 18. Medium-sized goby with moderately long body, and large head with short, slightly acute and oblique snout. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin may be slightly taller, with more or less rounded margin and no elongate spines. Caudal fin rounded. Scales present on body and on predorsal area, usually visible on photographs, at least dorsally (Kovačić & Šanda 2016). Live coloration. Body pale gray, pale yellowish, or yellowish brown with pattern of brown dots forming longitudinal lines. Dots are most marked along the lateral midline but always remain separated and generally form a continuous row with no marked spaces (Fig. 34). Eyes with a conspicuous horizontal dark brown stripe through the center, narrowly continuing on postorbital part of head as series of small close-set spots, an irregular longitudinal marking along the upper iris, a variable number of additional markings in orbit’s upper half but unmarked in ventral half, except sometimes with a small dot in its anterior portion. Snout with dark dashes forming M-shaped line. Usually it has only 2 longitudinal rows of dots on the cheek with a large unmarked area in the middle (Fig. 33 a). Rarely, a few dots are visible also in the middle cheek but usually limited to the anterior part of the cheek, very close together, well aligned and not parallel to the lower row. Posterior angle of mouth without a well-defined dark dot (Fig. 33 a), so the lower row of dots, which runs along the ventral edge of the cheek, starts with 2 dashes never preceded by a marked dot on the corner of the mouth (Kovačić & Šanda 2016; Renoult et al. 2022). Similar species. Gobius incognitus, G. fallax. Habitat. Infralittoral species, known from 1 – 8 m depth from all kinds of rocky substrata: gravel, cobbles, boulders and bedrock, but on sand only when it is mixed with a hard substratum, never on pure sand. The substratum was bare or covered with short thallus algae (Kovačić & Šanda 2016). Geographic distribution. Presently known from the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, it is common from the Gulf of Trieste (Tiralongo & Pillon 2020) to southern Croatia (Kovačić & Šanda 2016); there is only one record in the Ionian Sea from Butrint, southern Albania (Kovačić & Šanda 2016), and a record in the Aegean Sea from Kondyli beach, eastern Peloponnese (Tiralongo & Pillon 2020). Population from the Black Sea more similar in pattern of coloration to G. bucchichi than to G. incognitus in absence of black dot at the corner of mouth and any mark ventrally on iris (Vasil’eva 2007; Boltachev & Karpova 2017), and requires additional study.	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F00FF94FF76FECCFC2FFF34.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 13 – 14; A I, 10 – 12; P 19 – 22. Large goby with a robust body, a large head, long snout and thick lips. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin with more or less rounded edge and no elongated spines. Pectoral fins with well-developed, short free rays. Caudal fin rounded. Predorsal area and nape scaled. Scales small, visible on body and predorsal area as pattern of pale dots. Live coloration. Head and body variegated, finely mottled greenish to beige, with fairly invariable pattern of large and irregular dark midlateral blotches (Fig. 53). Dorsally three dark blotches at the posterior base of the dorsal fins and a smaller blotch just before the caudal peduncle on the back, and three fainter (sometimes not visible) blotches located in the center of the nape, over the pectorals, and just behind origin of the second dorsal fin, respectively. Along midline: 5 medium-sized dark blotches. Below midline: 9 - 10 smaller, aligned dark blotches. Often a series of roundish white spots on lower side of head (Fig. 53): one on lower lip, one at the angle of mouth, 3 – 5 along lower head reaching posterior border of opercle, and sometimes some smaller ones along opercular edge (Renoult et al. 2022). Similar species. Gobius ophiocephalus, G. paganellus. Habitat. Infralittoral and intertidal species, known from 0.2 – 10 m depth on hard or mixed bottoms and in lagoons with limited variation in salinity, except for the ocassional record from Israel (Kovačić & Golani 2007 b, Patzner 2021). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean, Eastern Atlantic, and Black Sea (Vasil’eva 2007). This species has migrated to the Gulf of Suez, in the Red Sea (Goren & Klausewitz 1978).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F03FF94FF76FE9DFB5EFB70.taxon	description	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. 2021 a), Port-Vendres and Saint-Mandrier, France (Louisy 2005; Iglésias et al. 2021 b), Liguria, Italy (Liu et al. 2009 a), Ischia Island, Italy (Stefanni & Mazzoldi 1999), Malta (Kovačić et al. 2013), Croatia (Kovačić 2001; Kovačić et al. 2012 b), Corfu Island, Greece (Šanda & Kovačić 2009), Crete (Kovačić et al. 2011), Cyprus (Kovačić & Golani 2007 a) and southern part of the Dardanelles Strait, Turkey (Özen et al. 2009). In the Black Sea, from Crimea (Karpova & Boltachev 2018).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F03FF94FF76FB51FC7FF81B.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 14; A I, 12 – 13; P 20 – 21. Large goby with stout body, moderately long snout with moderately steep profile, thick lips. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. First dorsal fin higher than the second dorsal fin; first dorsal fin spines decreasing posteriorly, shaping a curved margin. Caudal fin rounded. Predorsal area and nape scaled. Scales small, visible on body and predorsal area as dense pattern. Live coloration. Body mostly mottled brown, with large darker, squarish midlateral blotches, each one preceded and followed by a white patch (Fig. 15). Back with 4 broad dark transverse bands, the second and fourth the darkest, separated by thin white saddles (Fig. 15). Lips mostly vermilion, with a white bar below eye, at angle of mouth (Fig. 15) (red color usually not detectable under natural light only). Membranes of both dorsal fins are highly variegated, mixing irregular patches of red, dark brown and white coloration. Rows of head sensory papillae well-visible and bicolored black and white. Similar species. No similar species in the Mediterranean. However, with no artificial light, may be confused with Gobius paganellus or G. niger. Habitat. Infralittoral species, known from 1 – 40 m depth on inshore rocky habitats, sand with stones and boulders, and in seagrass meadows (Miller 1986; Louisy 2015; Patzner 2021). Geographic distribution. Northeastern Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Sea (Engin et al. 2007; Vasil’eva 2007). In the Atlantic, occurs from the counties of Cork and Kerry in Ireland to Western Sahara (Miller 1986). In the Mediterranean, all along the northern coast, and along the southern coast in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia (Miller 1986), as well as in Benghazi in Libya (Al-Hassan & El-Silini 1999).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F02FF95FF76FF11FAAEFBED.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 14 – 16; A I, 13 – 15; P 18. Medium-sized goby with moderately elongate body, large head, snout moderately steep and shorter than eye diameter. Body often held slightly arched. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height, first dorsal fin may be slightly higher, with more or less rounded margin and no elongate spines. Caudal fin rounded. Scales present on body and on predorsal area, usually visible on photographs on body. Live coloration. Body light gray or whitish, usually with blue or yellow reflections on the back (Fig. 39). Yellow hues sometimes more visible on the head. Head and body covered with longitudinal lines of well-defined brown or dark brown dots, those along midline slightly paler (Fig. 39). Dots are broadest along the lateral midline but always remain separated. The eyes have brown stripes radiating from the pupil to the orbital rim, 2 of them forming a broad horizontal stripe across the pupil. Dark curved mark on the upper iris on the eye connects longitudinally other marks (Fig. 39 b). Lower lip with a median W-shaped mark. A well-defined dark dot on posterior angle of mouth (Fig. 39 b). Upper lip with brown marks in addition to the dot on the corner of the mouth (Fig. 39 b). Snout with M-shaped line and an oblique preorbital bar (Herler et al. 2005; Renoult et al. 2022). Similar species. Gobius bucchichi, G. incognitus, G. xanthocephalus, G. auratus morph 2. Habitat. Infralittoral species, known from 1 – 32 m depth on mixed sandy-rocky habitats, rock crevices or stones nearby soft bottom, sometimes covered with seagrass (Herler & Patzner 2005; Louisy 2015). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean. Recorded from many places from the Balearic Islands to Turkey (Fricke et al. 2007), including Croatia (Kovačić & Patzner 2011), Crete (Kovačić et al. 2011), Cyprus (Kovačić & Golani 2007 a) and Libya (Al-Hassan & El-Silini 1999). Also recorded in Gran Canaria, Atlantic (Dooley et al. 1985), but this needs to be confirmed because of taxonomic progress on the Gobius auratus complex since this record.	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F02FF95FF76FBDBFD4EF848.taxon	description	Morphology. D V – VI + I, 12 – 15; A I, 11 – 14; P 18 – 22. Medium-sized goby with a moderately long body, and a short snout with a steep profile. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first may be slightly higher, with a more or less trapezoid shape, its first spine no shorter than the others. Caudal fin rounded. Scales present on body and on predorsal area, usually visible on photographs at least on body (Miller 1974, 1986). Live coloration. Body light gray to light pink with gold and greenish reflections on the back. Lateral midline with 6 to 11 rectangular, orange to dark brown blotches, some of them usually separated by isolated dark dots surrounded with white (Fig. 54). Lips white, or light gray or gold with white spots. Snout with a well-defined V-shaped line. Cheeks pale or shaded, and then often with a gold sheen and round white spots. An oculoscapular orange stripe starts behind eye and continues above upper pectoral-fin base into an irregular dorsolateral body stripe until top of caudal peduncle (Fig. 54 a). Dorsal fins with white spots and white margin in some males, possibly only in Atlantic population. Breeding males dark (Fig. 54 b) (Alberto et al. 1999; Renoult et al. 2022). Similar species. Gobius roulei, G. geniporus. Habitat. Infralittoral and circalittoral species, known from 5 – 120 m depth on soft bottoms with mud, sand, silt, shell or small-stone deposits (Miller 1986; Patzner 2021). Geographic distribution. Eastern Atlantic from Great Britain (Miller 1974) to Madeira and Canary Islands (Miller 1984) and in the western Mediterranean: Alboran and Balearic Islands (Ahnelt & Dorda 2004), southern France (J. Renoult unpublished observation), Gulf of Genoa in Italy (Ahnelt et al. 2011), Malta (Kovačić & Schembri 2019) and Lebanon (Bitar & Badreddine 2021).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F0DFF9BFF76F88CFEA0FD64.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 12 – 14; A I, 11 – 12; P 17 – 19. Large goby with a long body, moderately long snout with a shallow profile. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin with more or less rounded edge and no elongated spines. Caudal fin rounded. Scales small, visible on body and predorsal area as dense pattern. Predorsal area and nape scaled (Miller 1986). Live coloration. Body ground coloration whitish with beige to pale brown speckling with a longitudinal series of 5 rectangular dark blotches alternating with smaller, paler and less rectangular brown markings along lateral midline (Fig. 55). Body below the lateral midline white with diffuse brown speckles, or with a longitudinal series of small brown blotches (Fig. 55). Usually a large dark or shaded area below eye, often containing 2 dark bars. Some specimens with dorsal fins intensively patterned with large brown to reddish spots, sometimes coalescing to form longitudinal bands, and terminated by a white margin. Caudal fin with brown spots. Head sensory papillae black and visible (Renoult et al. 2022). Similar species. Gobius gasteveni, G. roulei. Habitat. Infralittoral species, known from 1 – 40 m depth on sandy or gravel bottoms nearby rock beds or seagrass (Louisy 2015; Patzner 2021). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean, including the Sea of Marmara and Cyprus (Miller 1986; Kovačić & Golani 2007 a).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F0CFF98FF76F9F9FD56FD2F.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 13 – 14; A I, 12 – 13; P 19 – 20. Medium-sized goby with moderately long body, large head, short snout. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin with more or less rounded edge and no elongated spines. Caudal fin rounded. Scales small, visible on body and usually on predorsal area as dense pattern. Predorsal area and nape scaled (Kovačić & Šanda 2016). Live coloration. Body uniformly pale gray, greenish gray or light brown, covered with longitudinal lines of brown dots (Fig. 37 A). The dots are broadest, darkest and most numerous along the lateral midline, where they coalesce in well-aligned midlateral dashes or blotches separated by white spaces. Eyes with a conspicuous horizontal stripe through the center, upper iris with separate brown dots or radiating stripes without a longitudinal mark uniting them (Fig. 37 b). V-shaped line in the center of the snout. Three longitudinal rows of dots recognizable on cheek or in irregular pattern (Fig. 33 d); the median row more or less regularly crosses the center of the cheek, parallel to the lower row. There is a well-defined dark dot at posterior angle of mouth, so the lower row begins with an isolated dot at the corner of the mouth, usually followed by 2 short horizontal dashes. Upper lip with brown marks in addition to the dot on the corner of the mouth (Fig. 37 b) (Kovačić & Šanda 2016; Renoult et al. 2022). Similar species. Gobius bucchichi, G. fallax. Habitat. Infralittoral species, known from 0.5 – 12 m depth mostly on shallow and sub-horizontal bottoms with sand and stones or rocks (Kovačić & Šanda 2016). At low depths it is typically associated with the sea anemone Anemonia viridis (Tiralongo et al. 2020). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean. Confirmed presence from the northwestern Mediterranean to the Aegean Sea and Israel (Kovačić & Šanda 2016).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F0FFF98FF76FC95FE2DF9DA.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 13 – 14; A I, 13; P 17 – 19. Medium-sized goby, snout moderately short but longer than the eye diameter, with a moderately steep profile. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin may be slightly higher, with more or less rounded distal edge and no elongate spines. Caudal fin rounded. Scales present on body and on predorsal area, usually visible on photographs at least on body (Kovačić & Miller 2000). Live coloration. Head and body on back pale to fawn, pearly white ventrally, with irregular orange blotches arranged in longitudinal series (Fig. 18). Snout with a conspicuous, V-shaped orange line. A broad horizontal stripe across eye and a continuous and well-marked orange oculoscapular line from behind eye to above pectoral-fin base. First dorsal fin with a distinct oval blackish blotch between the third and fourth (or fifth) interspinous membranes (Fig. 18) (Kovačić & Miller 2000; Francour & Mangialajo 2007; Renoult et al. 2022). Similar species. Thorogobius macrolepis. Habitat. Infralittoral and circalittoral species, known from 12 – 90 m depth. Typically found on patches of soft bottoms in steep rocky areas, often on coarse shell sand at the bottom of rocky or coralligenous walls, close to shelter (Kovačić & Miller 2000; Francour & Mangialajo 2007). Geographic distribution. Scattered records in the Mediterranean Sea: western Mediterranean (e. g., Columbretes and Balearic Islands in Spain: Kersting & Ballesteros 2010); Ligurian (Francour & Mangialajo 2007), Adriatic (Kovačić & Miller 2000), Ionian (Tiralongo & Pagano 2015) and Aegean seas (Bilecenog ̆ lu 2013), and Lebanon (Bitar & Badreddine 2021).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F0FFF9EFF76F904FAEDFD67.taxon	description	Morphology. D V – VII + I, 11 – 13; A I, 10 – 13; P 15 – 20. Large goby with a relatively stocky body, proportionately large head with a short and steep snout. Caudal peduncle deep, almost as deep as body. The first dorsal fin higher or about equal to the second, mature males with long and pointed fin with elongated spines (third and fourth spines longest). Pectoral-fin free rays moderately developed. Caudal fin rounded. Rows of sensory papillae well developed and clearly visible on the nape. Scales present on body and on predorsal area, usually visible in photographs at least on body (Miller 1986). Live coloration. Body ground coloration variable, usually light cream or gray, sometimes greenish (Fig. 56 a & 56 b), to black in nesting males (Fig. 56 c). In light-colored individuals, the body has dark mottling on the back, 5 or 6 black midlateral blotches and becomes white ventrally with few scattered black dots. Head with a white preorbital bar and a black suborbital bar, lips mottled dark gray or brown. Oculoscapular line limited to three inconspicuous black or brown dashes. Membrane of first dorsal fin light blue-green, or light gray, or light reddish (blackish in nesting males) in the distal half, reddish with 3 irregular white horizontal bands in the proximal half. One black blotch often visible distally on the first membrane of each dorsal fin or just on the first dorsal fin (Fig. 56 a); rarely a black spot is visible at the lower posterior corner of the first dorsal fin. Sensory papillae black and well visible on the nape (Renoult et al. 2022). Similar species. Gobius roulei, G. couchi. Habitat. Infralittoral and circalittoral species known from 1 – 96 m depth, mostly on sheltered or muddy soft bottoms and coastal lagoons (Miller 1986; Patzner 2021). Geographic distribution. Northeastern Atlantic, from the Baltic Sea to Canary Islands and in the whole Mediterranean (Miller 1986), the Black Sea (Tserkova et al. 2016) and the Sea of Azov (Miller 1986).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F09FF9EFF76FD50FC8DF956.taxon	description	Morphology. D V – VII + I, 13 – 16; A I, 12 – 16; P 17 – 20. Body stout and distinctly compressed laterally (for a Gobius species), especially on caudal peduncle. Proportionally small eyes. Snout moderately long and with a moderately steep profile. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. The first dorsal fin about equal to, or shorter than the second dorsal fin, with more or less rounded distal edge. Dorsal-fin ray tips become free from membrane in reproductive males (Toricelli et al. 2000). Caudal fin rounded. Scales small, visible on body and usually also on predorsal area as pattern of pale dots. Predorsal area and nape scaled (Miller 1986). Live coloration. Body coloration gray-green to pale fawn dorsally, whitish to yellow-green ventrally (Fig. 44). Eight to fourteen irregular, vertical dark bars along the lateral midline, forming dark lateral zigzag markings in combination with a series of 10 or more dark areas alternating with pale interspaces on lower side. A diffuse, light to golden dorsolateral stripe runs from predorsal area to caudal-fin base, not always visible (Fig. 44). It is bordered ventrally by an olive-brown stripe, and dorsally by a dark vertebral stripe. In the Adriatic, these stripes can be interrupted by dark transverse saddles. One oblique dark preorbital bar, bordered ventrally by a white suborbital bar. Cheek and preopercle mottled brown-olive with white spots of various sizes and irregular shapes (Fig. 44). First dorsal fin reddish with 4 gray-blue transverse bands. Second dorsal fin with the same color but with gray-blue irregular markings not forming clearly defined bands, and with many small white dots (Renoult et al. 2022). Similar species. Gobius cobitis. Habitat. Known from 0.1 – 3 m depth, eurythermal and euryhyaline, on soft bottoms with marine phanerogams in estuaries and coastal lagoons (Kara & Quignard 2019). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean, Adriatic, Black Sea and Sea of Azov. Along the African coasts, confirmed records from Libya and Tunisia (Hajji et al. 2013). Remark. Often classified in its own genus Zosterisessor Whitley, 1935, but its position within the genus Gobius was confirmed by a phylogenetic analysis (Iglésias et al. 2021 a).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F09FF9CFF76F88FFD0FFE4C.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 12 – 15; A I, 10 – 13; P 15 – 20. Medium-sized goby with a proportionally short and stocky body. Head wide and moderately depressed. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin may be slightly higher, with a more or less rounded distal edge and no elongate spines. Pectoral-fin free rays very well developed. Caudal fin rounded. Predorsal area and nape entirely covered with large scales. Scales visible on body and usually also on predorsal area (Miller 1986; Louisy 2015). Live coloration. Background coloration highly variable, ranging from light beige to dark brown (Fig. 57 a). Nesting males occasionally entirely black, with just the first dorsal fin margin colored (Fig. 57 b). Most frequent pattern: broad dark bars and thin alternate white saddles on the back, medium-sized dark blotches along lateral midline, and small dark markings on a light background below. Usually a pale to white bar between eye and corner of mouth; it is often preceded by a dark preorbital bar. First dorsal fin usually dark with an orange to yellow marginal band (Renoult et al. 2022). Similar species. Gobius ater, G. cobitis, Millerigobius macrocephalus, Zebrus zebrus, Z. pallaoroi. Habitat. Infralittoral species known from 0.5 – 20 m depth on very diverse hard or mixed bottoms (Patzner 2021; P. Louisy unpublished observation). Geographic distribution. The whole of the Mediterranean (Miller 1986), Black Sea (Engin & Seyhan 2009) and Eastern Atlantic from Great Britain to Senegal (Miller 1986), including the Azores (Santos et al. 1997), the Canary Islands (Wirtz 1994) and Madeira (Wirtz et al. 2008).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F0BFF9CFF76FE75FD27FA2B.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 12 – 14; A I, 12; P 17 – 19. Medium-sized goby with a relatively slender body, proportionately large head with a short and steep snout. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body. First dorsal fin high and pointed with elongate spines in males, more often with a triangular rounded shape in females (and about height of second dorsal fin). Pectoral-fin free rays moderately developed. Caudal fin rounded. Scales present on body, usually visible on photographs, at least dorsally (Fig. 58). Predorsal area naked (Miller 1986). Rows of dark sensory papillae sometimes visible on nape. Live coloration. Background coloration whitish, grayish or pale orange. Lateral midline covered with an almost continuous line of brown to black dots between pectoral and caudal fins; this line is slightly broadened at regular intervals to form 5 to 6 midlateral blotches (Fig. 58). Back mottled orange to dark brown, with white or gray patches sometimes forming narrow saddles, ventral side almost uniformly light cream, with only faint grayish markings below the midlateral blotches (Fig. 58). Lips white, unmarked. Oculoscapular dark line well visible, beginning with a short and broad orange to pink dash just behind eye. Dorsal-fin membranes pale, with a yellow shade on distal half, and 2 to 3 faint, darker transverse bands on proximal half. Basal half of first spine of each dorsal fin with alternating white and black dashes along leading edge (Fig. 58) (Renoult et al. 2022). Similar species. Gobus niger, G. gasteveni, G. geniporus. Habitat. Infralittoral and circalittoral to bathyal species known from 1 to 385 m depth (Maul 1976) on sand or coarse sand, among seagrass or bedrocks (Kovačić 1995). Geographic distribution Mediterranean, in the Atlantic recorded only in southern Portugal (Maul 1976). It was described from the Balearic Islands (de Buen 1928), and since has been recorded throughout northern Mediterranean from Gibraltar to Malta (Kovačić & Schembri 2019) and Cyprus (Kovačić & Golani 2006), including southern France (Le Bris & Louisy 2015), the Ligurian Sea (Liu et al. 2009 b), Adriatic Sea (Kovačić 1995; Lipej et al. 2005), Aegean Sea and Levant (Bilecenog ̆ lu et al. 2014).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F75FFE2FF76FF11FD1FFC9D.taxon	description	Size. Known adult size about 4 – 5 cm total length. Morphology. D VI + I, 11 – 13; A I, 11 – 13; P 15 – 18. Short and stout body, nearly cylindrical, except for laterally compressed caudal peduncle (Kovačić 2006). Caudal peduncle slender, lower than body. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first with a more or less rounded edge. Caudal fin truncate to slightly emarginate. Body and predorsal area covered with scales (Miller 1986), usually poorly visible on live specimen photographs (Fig. 10). Live coloration. Background coloration pale to white, light yellow or beige, with a broad, dark-chestnut to black stripe between the upper lip and snout and the caudal fin, passing through the eyes (Fig. 10). The lateral stripes of both sides meet above the upper lip, forming a V-shaped snout line that slightly extends onto mid upper lip (Fig. 10). Fins mostly clear and unmarked, yet often with a light pink hue on the rays and membranes (Fig. 10) (Heymer & Zander 1978).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F75FFE2FF76FF11FD1FFC9D.taxon	diagnosis	Similar species. Tridentriger trigonocephalus, also the blenny Parablennius rouxi.	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F75FFE2FF76FF11FD1FFC9D.taxon	biology_ecology	Habitat. Infralittoral and circalittoral species, known from 2 – 85 m depth (Francour et al. 2010), most frequent between 15 – 40 m depth, on steep to moderate rocky slopes made of boulders or coralligenous beds (Heymer & Zander 1978), more rarely on sand (Kovačić 2004; Kovačić & Arko-Pijevac 2008).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F75FFE2FF76FF11FD1FFC9D.taxon	distribution	Geographic distribution. Northern Mediterranean, presently known from the Strait of Gibraltar in Spain to Leghorn in Italy, in the Gulf of Taranto and the Gargano Peninsula (Italy), Eastern Adriatic, the Aegean Sea (Miller 1986). Also recorded from Crete (Kovačić et al. 2011).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F75FFE2FF76FC4BFC89F883.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 13 – 16; A I, 13 – 15; P 18 – 20. Medium-sized goby with moderately elongate body, large head, and a short, slightly acute and oblique snout. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin may be slightly higher in appearance, with more or less rounded distal edge and no elongate spines. Caudal fin rounded. Scales present on body and on predorsal area, usually visible on photographs at least on body. Live coloration. Head yellowish, more intensely on the snout and in the interorbital space, contrasting with a light gray or whitish body (Fig. 38). Head and body covered with longitudinal lines of well-defined orange to dark red dots. Eyes with brown stripes radiating from the pupil over iris to the orbital rim, 2 of them constituting a broad horizontal stripe across the pupil; the upper eye radial stripes are connected by an irregular longitudinal curved line (Fig. 38 b). Upper lip with orange markings. Lower lip with a median W-shaped mark. Snout with Mshaped line and an oblique preorbital bar (Fig. 38 b). One isolated brown to dark red dot at the corner of the mouth, followed by 2 short horizontal dashes (Fig. 33 e). Similar species. Gobius auratus morph 2, G. fallax. Habitat. Infralittoral species, known from 1 – 36 m depth (Heymer & Zander 1992; Wirtz & Herrera 1995) on hard (e. g., bedrock, coralligenous) or mixed bottoms (e. g., sandy patches with pebbles, boulders, and seagrass). Geographic distribution. Northeastern Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Sea. In the Mediterranean, recorded in the northwestern Mediterranean (Miller 1986), including the Balearic Island of Ibiza (Fisher et al. 2007) and Corsica (Francour et al. 2010). Isolated populations confirmed in Crimea (Boltachev et al. 2009) and in the eastern part of the Black Sea (Vasil’eva & Bogorodsky 2004). In the Atlantic Ocean: from Galicia, Northern Spain (Villegas-Riìos & BanÞoìn 2010) to the Canary Islands (Wirtz & Herrera 1995).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F74FFE3FF76FF11FB18FC7A.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 14; A I, 13; P 18 – 19. Moderately long body and distinctly large eyes. Snout short (shorter than eye diameter), with moderately steep and rounded profile. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. First dorsal fin higher than second dorsal fin (maybe in mature males only), third spine longest and elongate, interspinous membranes deeply incised. No free pectoral-fin rays detected. Caudal fin rounded. Scales visible on dead specimens from reticulate pattern of pigmentation along scale edges, visibility on live specimens unknown. Freshly dead coloration. Background coloration orange-beige, dark-brown or whitish, with orange markings dorsally, and 7 rectangular, orange midlateral blotches (Fig. 59). Eyes with stripes radiating from the pupil to the orbital rim, including a broad horizontal stripe across the eye. One indistinct orange preorbital bar. Lips unmarked. Cheek and opercle orange, possibly smoked gray in some individuals, with numerous rounded white spots (Fig. 59). On the anterior half of the first dorsal fin, an oblique, smokey gray blotch extending from the distal half of first spine to the base of fourth or fifth. Upper base of pectoral fins with an orange blotch (Iglésias et al. 2021 a). Similar species. Gobius gasteveni, G. kolombatovici, Vanneaugobius dollfusi. Habitat. Circalittoral species, recorded from deep coralline beds composed of fixed or unattached red algae, between 62 and 102 m depth (Iglésias et al. 2021 a). Geographic distribution. Western Mediterranean, known from only three individuals collected in Corsica, off the French-Spanish continental border, and in the Balearic Island of Menorca (Iglésias et al. 2021 a).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F74FFE0FF76FA0EFC7CFF34.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 8; A I, 8 – 9; P 17 – 18. Body moderately elongate, the depth 5.0 – 6.3 in standard length. Stout head with slightly rounded snout and large eyes extending slightly above dorsal profile. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. First spine of first and second dorsal fins stout and sharp-tipped; third spine of the first dorsal fin slightly longest but not elongate. Caudal fin rounded, shorter than head length. Body, nape, cheek and opercle scaled, but scales not visible or poorly visible on live specimen photographs (Engin et al. 2018). Live coloration. Pale gray with numerous small irregular brown spots on body and dorsally on head, and a row of 5 irregular blackish blotches along midside (Fig. 35), first below first dorsal fin, fifth on caudal-fin base. Head with brown marking below orbit. Second dorsal fin with brown streaks along rays. No rows of elongate spots on cheek and no longitudinal eye stripe (Fig. 33 b). Similar species. Gobius incognitus, G. bucchichi. Habitat. Inhabits sand bottom in sheltered bays and lagoons at depth of 5 – 37 m (Engin et al. 2018). Geographic distribution. Only known from the type specimens collected at Fethiye on the Levantine coast of Turkey, eastern Mediterranean Sea. It was later observed in Abu Dabab lagoon, Marsa Alam, Egypt on silty sand bottom (based on an unpublished photograph provided by B. Hazes).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F77FFE0FF76FE9DFDF0FC39.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 11; A I, 10; P 15 – 17 (rarely 17). Body moderately elongate, its depth 4.2 – 5.3 in standard length. Head depressed, snout short, rounded. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin with more or less rounded margin having spines subequal in length, none elongate. Caudal fin rounded, longer than head. Head and body scaleless (Hoese 1986). Live coloration. Semitranslucent gray, with 6 irregular, sometimes indistinct, dark yellowish brown bars on body, containing irregular pale spots, and extending into basal part of dorsal fins (Fig. 47); head with 2 irregular dark brown bands radiating anteroventrally and posteroventrally from eye with a whitish area between them; a narrow dark brown bar at base of caudal fin (Fig. 47), this fin crossed by irregular vertical rows of dark brown spots. Similar species. Millerigobius macrocephalus, Zebrus zebrus, Z. pallaoroi. Habitat. No data on habitat for the Mediterranean. In the Red Sea, inhabits crevices among stones on reef flat or rocky substrata at coral reefs at depths of 1 – 24 m. Geographic distribution. Reported from the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Socotra Archipelago, south to Mozambique, east to southern Oman and Pakistan. A single specimen is known from the coast of Israel, eastern Mediterranean Sea (Hoese 1986).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F77FFE0FF76FB98FE7BF814.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 7 – 9; A I, 4 - 6; P 14 - 15 (Herler & Kovačić 2002). Small goby with subcylindrical body, laterally compressed towards caudal fin. Head slightly depressed and fairly long, snout short, eyes large and close together. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. First dorsal fin higher than the second dorsal fin; no elongated spines, but breeding males with notably enlarged, sail-like first dorsal fin. Caudal fin rounded. Body covered with scales (Herler & Kovačić 2002), which are poorly visible on live specimen photographs (Fig. 8). Live coloration. Head and most predorsal area grayish in males, brownish in females. Body with a pattern of alternating dark and pale, slightly oblique broad bars. A white area below the first dorsal fin, followed by a well obliquely-delineated dark area between bases of second dorsal and anal fins (which contains an oblong white spot ventrally), contrasting with a plain white caudal peduncle (Fig. 8). Rear caudal peduncle and caudal-fin base dark brown. White body area extending onto most of pectoral fin. Additional narrow rusty red bars can be present over pale and dark areas below dorsal fins. Males’ enlarged first dorsal fin grayish to white with 2 - 3, often faint, oblique yellow to orange bands, second dorsal fin with black margin, 4 oblique yellow to orange bands and sometimes a large blue-edged black blotch on its anterior corner. Females’ triangular first dorsal fin white to graybrown with a small green round spot between fifth and sixth spines, second dorsal fin somewhat transparent, both dorsal fins with visible or indistinct oblique orange bands (Herler & Kovačić 2002; Hope & Shucksmith 2010; Schliewen et al. 2019). Similar species. Lebetus patzneri, Speleogobius trigloides. Habitat. Infralittoral and circalittoral species, known from 2 – 67 m depth on stone, shell, gravel, coralligenous or red algae beds bottoms (Engin et al. 2015; Schliewen et al. 2019). Geographic distribution. The northeastern Atlantic, from Normandy to Norway, as well as in the Mediterranean, including the northwestern Mediterranean, Adriatic Sea and the Sea of Marmara (Miller 1986; Engin et al. 2015; Schliewen et al. 2019).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F76FFE1FF76FF11FA90FCB2.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI – VII + I, 7 – 8; A I, 6; P 15 – 16. Small goby with subcylindrical body, laterally compressed towards caudal fin. Head slightly depressed and fairly long. Eyes moderately large and close together. Snout moderately long and pointed. Lips thick, giving mouth a broad, almost rectangular shape in dorsal and lateral view. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. The first dorsal fin small, more or less with rounded distal edge. Caudal fin rounded. Body covered with scales, but scales poorly visible on freshly dead specimen photographs, visibility on live specimens unknown (Schliewen et al. 2019). Freshly dead coloration. Head and body red, gently black dotted (peppered) and with irregular white markings; first dorsal fin entirely dark (Fig. 11). Three red bars radiating from lower margin of eye, with white in between. Caudal peduncle mostly red as the rest of body, with only a triangular white blotch or saddle (Fig. 11) (Schliewen et al. 2019). Similar species. Lebetus guilleti, Speleogobius trigloides, Vanneaugobius dollfusi. Habitat. Circalittoral, on Peyssonnelia and rodolith red algae beds, from 60 – 72 m depth (Schliewen et al. 2019). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean, only known from Balearic Islands, Spain (Schliewen et al. 2019).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F76FFE1FF76FC22FDE9F94C.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 13 – 16; A I, 12 – 15; P 18 – 19 (Miller 1986). Moderately large goby with subcylindrical body, laterally compressed towards caudal fin, head moderately large. Snout large and blunt. Eyes dorsolateral, interorbital space narrow. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin may be slightly higher, with more or less rounded edge and no elongate spines. Caudal fin slightly pointed, almost rounded. Predorsal area and nape scaled (Miller 1986). Scales large, visible on body and usually also on predorsal area. Live coloration. Body with 2 longitudinal rows of gray-brown to orange-brown spots, more or less overlaid with yellow or orange, one row along back and another along lateral midline; smaller spots of the same color (and not lines) on head (Fig. 17). Both dorsal fins and upper half of caudal fin with yellow to orange spots; second dorsal-fin edge yellow to orange with a blue to whitish submarginal band (Moen & Svensen 2004; Louisy 2015). Similar species. Lesueurigobius sanzi, L. suerii, Thorogobius macrolepis. Habitat. Infralittoral and circalittoral to bathyal species, known from 10 – 440 m on soft bottoms and seagrass meadows (Goren et al. 2019; Patzner 2021). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean: present in the Atlantic from Mauritania to Norway and along north Mediterranean coast from Gibraltar to the Sea of Marmara, also along Turkish coast south to Levant (Miller 1986; Goren et al. 2019).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F76FFE6FF76F979FE28FE17.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 15; A I, 16 – 17; P 22 (Miller 1986). Moderately large goby with high, laterally compressed and robust body, head high and moderately large. Snout large and blunt. Eyes dorsolateral, interorbital space narrow. Caudal peduncle deep, almost same depth as body. The first dorsal fin with elongated spines, third and fourth spine longest. Caudal fin lanceolate. Predorsal area and nape scaled. Scales large, visible on freshly dead specimens on body and usually also on predorsal area, visibility on live specimens unknown. Freshly dead coloration. Body fawn, with diffuse vertical yellow and dark brown bands across body. Margins of anal and caudal fins with a blackish shade (Fig. 60); live coloration unknown (Miller 1986). Similar species. Lesueurigobius friesii, L. suerii. Habitat. Circalittoral species, known from 47 – 100 m on soft bottoms, sand and mud (Miller 1986). Geographic distribution. Atlantic Ocean and adjacent Mediterranean: known from the eastern Atlantic coast from Portugal to Mauritania (Miller 1986) and also off northern Namibia. In the Mediterranean it is known from the Alboran Sea (Miller 1986).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F71FFE7FF76FAC9FCF4FF1B.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 13 – 14; A I, 13 – 14; P 17 – 20 (Miller 1986). Moderately small goby with laterally compressed body, head high and moderately large. Snout blunt, short. Eyes dorsolateral, high on head with top forming part of dorsal profile. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. The first dorsal fin slightly higher than the second, spines not elongated. Caudal fin lanceolate. Predorsal area and nape naked (Miller 1986). Scales large, visible on body (Fig. 60). Live coloration. Body with a midlateral series of poorly defined dark spots; more irregular, often oblique markings along back. Background color grayish beige with light blue to reddish hue, sometimes with ill-defined yellow bars (Fig. 16). Head with 3 – 4 oblique yellow to orangish stripes over cheek, preopercle and opercle, and another slanting upper stripe on side of nape. Usually, second dorsal, caudal and anal fins with an orange outer margin and a blue to whitish submarginal band, sometimes faint. Similar species. Lesueurigobius friesii, L. suerii, Oxyurichthys petersii. Habitat. Infralittoral and circalittoral to bathyal species, known from infralittoral to 440 m on soft bottoms, mostly mud, muddy sand and possibly also sand (Miller 1986; Bérenger et al. 2015; Rufray et al. 2016; Goren et al. 2019). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean. In the Mediterranean, known from the northern coast from Alboran Sea to Levant, and also on the south coast from Algeria (Miller 1986). In the Atlantic Ocean, it was recorded from Morocco and Canaries (Miller 1986).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F70FFE7FF76FEB9FF00FA6C.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 9 – 11; A I, 9 – 10; P 14 – 16. Small goby with stocky body, large head and a short steep snout. Anterior nostril tube long, without tentacle. Caudal peduncle deep, almost as deep as body. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first with a more or less rounded edge. Only the tip of upper pectoral fin rays is free from membrane. Caudal fin rounded. Body scaled, predorsal area naked (Miller 1986; Vanhove et al. 2011). Scales more or less visible on body from the reticulate pattern of pigmentation along scale edges (Fig. 27). Live coloration. Body greenish, brownish or dark brown with 6 – 11 narrow, usually indistinct, pale bars across the sides (Fig. 27 a) (Vanhove et al. 2011; Patzner 2021). In unstressed animals in the wild, side of body often more or less uniformly colored or mottled brown (Fig. 27 b). When pale markings are visible on the back, they most often coalesce into a highly irregular mediodorsal pale band (most dark markings on the body not reaching to base of dorsal fins). Many small pale dots irregularly arranged, especially on snout, preopercle and cheek. When present, the pale crescent band on head (broad whitish transverse band across anterior nape extending on the sides down to pectoral-fin bases) extends onto the rear part of eyes; it is most often ill-defined (consists of overlapping whitish spots). Often a distinctive and well-defined longitudinal median narrow line on nape and predorsal area, usually formed by a dark dash followed by a white dash, another dark dash, and then a pale line reaching to origin of first dorsal fin (Fig. 27 c). First dorsal fin more or less dark, sometimes reddish, with a whitish horizontal band and often a pale distal edge. Similar species. Zebrus zebrus, Zebrus pallaoroi. Habitat. Infralittoral species, known from 1 – 25 m depth on stones and pebbles near soft bottoms (summarized by Patzner 2021). Also recorded in transition waters, hypersaline or brackish (Vanhove et al. 2011). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean and Black Sea. In the Mediterranean Sea, there are records from Ibiza (Ramos-Espla & Perez-Ruzafa 1987), Cerbère, Gulf of Lion (Duhau et al. 2021), southern Corsica (Bouchereau & Tomasini 1989, Renoult et al. 2021 b), Sicily (Giacobbe et al. 2016), Malta (Kovačić et al. 2013), Croatia (Kovačić 2005), Slovenia (Trkov et al. 2019), Greece, Lake Vouliagmeni (Vanhove et al. 2011), Crete (Kovačić et al. 2011), Euboia Island (Kovačić et al. 2021), Turkey, Aegean Sea (Bogorodsky et al. 2010), Cyprus (Kovačić et al. 2021), Israel and Lebanon (Miller 1977). Large-headed goby was also found in Crimea, in the Black Sea (Boltachev et al. 2010).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F70FFE4FF76FA58FE94FCDB.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 9 – 10; A I, 9 – 10; P 14 – 16. Small species with a moderately elongated body. Head not prominently dorsoventrally flattened. Deep caudal peduncle, nearly same as body depth below mid second dorsal fin. First dorsal fin triangular, with the first spine longest, more elongated and pointed in males (Fig. 26). Caudal fin rounded. Anterior nostril tubular without process from rear rim. Uppermost and lowermost scales on caudal-fin base conspicuously enlarged and with elongated ctenii although this is rarely visible in photographs. The pelvic fins are separated, which is also hardly noticeable from lateral view (Miller & Tortonese 1968; Miller 1986; Ahnelt et al. 1994; Kovačić & Golani 2007 a; Louisy 2015). Scales visible on body from reticulate pattern of pigmentation along scale edges. Live coloration. Head and body usually reddish or orangish overall, with 5 – 8 indistinct transverse pale bars (Fig. 26 a) or, more often, with just a series of about 9 small whitish saddles or markings along back and side of body more or less uniformly colored (Fig. 26 b). The first 2 of these pale dorsal markings, located on nape and predorsal area, may be faint. No midlateral row of small black spots. The barred pattern on the body mostly appears when the fish is stressed after capture (or when anesthetized). Tubular anterior nostrils usually whitish. A whitish spot at the dorsal edge of opercle. Possibly 2 small white spots aligned vertically on upper pectoral-fin base with a darker patch in between (Louisy 2002, 2015). Outer margin of first dorsal fin broadly white or pale gray. Similar species. Vanneaugobius dollfusi, Corcyrogobius liechtensteini. Habitat. Infralittoral and circalittoral species, known from a few meters to about 45 m depth on rocky or coralligenous bottoms in small cavities and crevices, under stones or in multi-layered scree, sometimes among macroalgae or on mixed sandy grounds (Louisy 2002; Kovačić et al. 2012 a & b; Glavičić et al. 2016). Specimens have also been caught from about 25 – 103 m depth, on coralline and stony grounds, but also on Cladophora beds or on muddy substrates (Miller 1986; Ahnelt et al. 1994; Ahnelt & Dorda 2004; Stern & Rilov 2019). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean. Northern and eastern Mediterranean, from the Gulf of Valencia (Ordines et al. 2019 a) and Balearic Islands (Ahnelt et al. 1994) to the Levant, Cyprus (Kovačić & Golani 2007 a) and Israel (Stern & Rilov 2019), including southern France, at Six-Fours (Escoubet et al. 1981) and Banyuls (Louisy 2002), southern Italy, Gulf of Taranto (Parenzan 1973), Strait of Sicily (Consoli et al. 2019), Malta (Kovačić & Schembri 2019), the Adriatic Sea (Ahnelt et al. 1994; Kovačić et al. 2012 b) and the Aegean Sea (Koukouras et al. 1985; Miller 1986).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F73FFE4FF76FC0CFE8CF8C5.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 12 – 13; A I, 12 – 13; P 22 – 23. Body elongate, the depth 5.6 – 6.5 in standard length. Eyes protruding, their upper part well above dorsal profile of head (Fig. 45), each topped by a short fleshy knob. A narrow dermal crest present on nape. Caudal peduncle deep, almost as deep as body. Spines of first dorsal fin elongate, each ending in a short filament. Dorsal and anal fins long-based. Pelvic fins united to form a disc. Caudal fin lanceolate, nearly twice as long as head (Fig. 45). Scales on body ctenoid posteriorly, becoming cycloid anteriorly below middle of first dorsal fin, no scales on cheek, opercle, and prepectoral area (Pezold & Larson 2015). Scales small, at best visible on body as pattern of pale dots. Live coloration. Yellowish to greenish gray dorsally, abdomen whitish, with a midlateral row 6 slightly elongate, blackish blotches, the first blotch on pectoral-fin base, the last on mid caudal peduncle at caudal-fin base (Fig. 45), sometimes alternating with 5 smaller dark spots. Head with a broad dark bar below eye, indistinctly edged with a pale blue line, followed by a row of dark blotches across operculum. Males with a series of oblique iridescent blue streaks on body, the first below origin of first dorsal fin; membranes of both dorsal fins with yellowish marks, forming longitudinal stripes, separated by short blue stripes. Similar species. Cryptocentrus steinhardti. Habitat. Inhabits silty sand or mud substrata of sheltered bays or estuaries, from the shallows to depths of 50 m; takes refuge in a burrow, but is able to dive quickly into mud if threatened when away from shelter. Geographic distribution. In the native area restricted to the Red Sea (Pezold & Larson 2015). The most common Lessepsian goby migrant in the Mediterranean, where reported from Greece at Kastellorizo Island (Apostolopoulos & Karachle 2016), Israel (Ben-Tuvia 1983; Golani 2021), Lebanon (Bariche & Fricke 2020), Syria (Ali 2018), Tunisia (Golani et al. 2002), and Turkey from Aegean Sea and Mediterranean Sea coasts (Bilecenog ̆ lu et al. 2002; Akyol et al. 2006).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F72FFE5FF76FF11FB96FC09.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 8 – 9 (usually 8); A I, 8; P 15 – 16. Body depth 4.7 – 5.3 in standard length. Head slightly laterally compressed, with relatively short snout. The second and third spines of first dorsal fin longest but not elongate. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. Pelvic fins joined to form a disc, reaching to or extending slightly beyond anus. Caudal fin rounded, shorter than head. No scales on head and predorsal area. Body covered with scales (Kovačić & Golani 2007 b), but scales poorly visible on freshly dead specimen photographs, visibility on live specimens unknown (Fig. 61). Fresh dead coloration. Whitish or pale greenish gray, the upper 2 / 3 of body with small brown spots of variable size, mainly on scale edges; body with a midlateral row of 6 larger and darker markings, mainly as double spots (Fig. 61), the first beneath pectoral fin, the last at base of caudal fin. A large indistinct orangish brown blotch on base of opercle. In males, ventral third of body with vertical orange lines, some linked to the midlateral blackish spots. In males, outer margin of first dorsal fin deep purple, with an irregular pale yellow submarginal band; caudal fin with a dark spot on upper edge (Fig. 61) (Kovačić & Bogorodsky 2013). Similar species. Pomatoschistus adriaticus, P. marmoratus, P. microps. Habitat. Inhabits silty sand and sparse seagrass, at depths of 0.3 – 5 m (Kovačić & Bogorodsky 2013). Geographic distribution. Reported from the northern Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf south to Mozambique, east to Singapore, northern Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. In the Mediterranean Sea one specimen was collected from the Bardawil Lagoon, Egypt (Kovačić & Golani 2007 b). Remarks: Often classified in the genus Favonigobius Whitley, 1930; however, tentatively placed in Papillogobius for the unique pattern of lateral line system papillae; see Kovačić & Bogorodsky (2013).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F7DFFEAFF76FF11FE17FC25.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 8 – 9; A I, 8 – 9; P 17 – 19 (Miller 1973). Moderately small goby with subcylindrical body, laterally compressed towards caudal fin, head slightly depressed and moderately large. Snout pointed, moderately large. Eyes dorsolateral, interorbital space narrow. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin with more or less rounded margin and no elongated spines. Caudal fin rounded. Scales present on body, usually visible on photographs at least dorsally. Predorsal area naked (Öztürk & Engin 2019). Live coloration. Body pale gray to pale brown with 5 whitish saddles and dark mottled pattern (Fig. 62), the first narrow light saddle, at the origin of first dorsal fin, is followed by 2 broader ones below second dorsal fin, and 2 on caudal peduncle. Body with 5 dark midlateral blotches, sometimes reduced to double black dots, extend from below the above light saddles, the last blotch appearing as a horizontal black mark on caudal-fin base. Cheeks pale gray, with only scattered black dots. A dark patch around upper pectoral-fin base divides in 2 oblique branches over upper and lower opercle and preopercle. Dorsal fins with three horizontal pale brown to pinkish lines (often with rows of black dots) alternating with three whitish to light blue lines. Similar species. Pomatoschistus bathi, P. nanus, P. marmoratus, P. microps. Habitat. Infralittoral species, on coarse sand containing biogenic calcareous fragments and shell gravel with coralline deposits (Öztürk & Engin 2019), sand at 1 – 20 m depth (Patzner 2021). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean. Known from southern France, the Adriatic Sea and the Sea of Marmara (summarized by Patzner 2021).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F7CFFEBFF76FF11FB09FC09.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI (V – VI) + I, 7 – 9; A I, 6 – 9; P 13 – 17 (Miller 1986). Small goby with subcylindrical body, laterally compressed towards caudal fin, head slightly depressed and distinctly small compared to thickness of body (Fig. 63). Snout moderately long. Eyes dorsolateral, interorbital space moderately narrow. Caudal peduncle slender, clearly lower than body depth. The first dorsal fin about equal or shorter than the second dorsal fin, with more or less rounded distal margin. Caudal fin rounded. Scales present on body, usually visible on close-up photographs at least dorsally. Predorsal area naked. Live coloration. Body from beige to light brown with pale saddles and mottled patterning dorsally and white ventrally, with vertical, iridescent, pale gray streaks. Five small pale dorsal saddles ending ventrally above the midline not linked with a midlateral irregularly shaped, horizontally elongate, black spot below (Fig. 63). Each black lateral spot with a short ventral black extension, except the last, pear-shaped, at caudal-fin base. Short dark dash from the center of the snout to the upper lip, not always visible. Indistinct gray to dark vertical bar extending from ventral edge of eye to corner of mouth; cheek pale (Fig. 63). On side of head, between opercle and upper pectoral-fin base, a horizontal, Y-shaped brown to reddish marking, branching forward (Fig. 63). Similar species. Pomatoschistus nanus, P. quagga, P. adriaticus, Pseudaphya ferreri. Habitat. Infralittoral species, on sand and gravel to 15 m depth (Engin et al. 2018 a). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean and Black Sea. In the Mediterranean Sea, there are records from the northwestern Mediterranean, Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea and Sea of Marmara (Miller 1986), also Sicily (Giacobbe et al. 2017). In the Black Sea it was recorded from the eastern coast (Vasil’eva & Bogorodskii 2004).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F7FFFE8FF76FF11FDF1FC25.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI (VI – VII) + I, 9 – 11; A I, 8 – 10; P 17 – 20 (Miller 1986). Small goby with subcylindrical body, laterally compressed towards caudal fin, head moderately small. Typically short and rounded snout. Eyes lateral, interorbital space wide. Caudal peduncle slender, clearly lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin with more or less rounded margin and no elongated spines. Caudal fin truncate to slightly emarginate. Scales present on body, usually visible on photographs at least dorsally. Predorsal area naked (Miller 1986). Live coloration. Background color beige to reddish orange, with alternating narrow dark and whitish vertical bars, more numerous in males. Irregular dark markings along back. Sometimes 4 pale dorsal saddles, first below origin of second dorsal fin, last on rear caudal peduncle; a large red or blackish triangular spot on base of caudal fin (Fig. 64). May be 2 red or dark bars below eye, first reaching corner of mouth, second on cheek. First dorsal fin with three oblique orange stripes, second sometimes with series of brown spots (Miller 1986; Kovačić et al. 2017 b; present work, Fig. 64). Similar species. Pomatoschistus bathi, P. quagga. Habitat. Infralittoral species, mostly encountered between 0 – 10 m depth (Kovačić 2003), but known down to 45 m (Kovačić et al. 2017 b), often hovering 10 – 50 cm above the substrata, on sand near rock and Cymodocea meadows or among boulders and scree (Kovačić 2003; Patzner 2021). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean. Known from Giglio Island in the Tyrrhenian Sea and from the Adriatic Sea (Miller 1986; Kovačić 2003).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F7EFFEEFF76FF11FE1AFCDB.taxon	description	Morphology. D V (V – VII) + I, 8 – 10; A I, 8 – 10; P 17 – 21 (Miller 1986). Moderately small goby with subcylindrical body, laterally compressed towards caudal fin, head slightly depressed and moderately large. Snout moderately large. Eyes dorsolateral, interorbital space moderately narrow. Caudal peduncle long and slender, clearly lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin may be slightly higher, with more or less rounded margin and no elongate spines. Caudal fin rounded. Scales present on body, sometimes visible on photographs, at least dorsally. Predorsal area naked (Miller 1986). Live coloration. Background a pale sandy color, with a more or less marbled pattern of dark and white markings. On pale fine sand, light colors prevail, with almost no recognizable patterns (Figs. 65 a and 65 b). On coarser sediments, more contrasting patterns are usually displayed: 6 pale saddles on the back, 1 below first dorsal fin, 2 below second dorsal fin, 2 on caudal peduncle and one, narrower and sometimes faint, on nape above pectoral-fin base; variable number of faint rounded dark spots along midline, the last longitudinal and more obvious at caudalfin base (Fig. 65 c). A preorbital dark bar, especially obvious in females, extends from each eye, through upper lip, to connect with that from the opposite side, forming a distinctive dark chin spot (Fig. 65 b). Often a whitish to pale blue dot on nape, just behind eyes, generally more or less circled with an interrupted dark line, often like between brackets (such a marking may also appear in P. microps or Deltentosteus quadrimaculatus). In males, cheeks often densely sprinkled with small black dots; first dorsal fin may be large, with brownish and pale stripes, and a blueblack spot on its rear upper corner (Fig. 65 a). Similar species. Pomatoschistus adriaticus, P. microps, P. minutus. Habitat. Infralittoral species, often common on shallow soft bottoms (mostly fine to coarse sand) from 0.3 – 20 m depth (Apostolou et al. 2011; Pillon et al. 2015; Patzner 2021), may occur to 60 – 70 m (Miller 1986). Geographic distribution. Black Sea, Mediterranean and adjacentAtlantic Ocean. Widespread in the Mediterranean from Gibraltar to Levant, also common in the Black Sea (Miller 1986; Boltachev & Karpova 2017). Along the south Mediterranean coast between the Alboran Sea and Suez Canal in Egypt (Miller 1986) the species was confirmed from northern and southern Tunisia (Mejri et al. 2009 a). In the Atlantic Ocean, known from Gibraltar to south Portuguese coast (Miller 1986).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F79FFEEFF76FC0CFF00F871.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI (V – VII) + I, 8 – 11; A I, 7 – 10; P 15 – 20 (Miller 1986). Moderately small goby with subcylindrical body, laterally compressed towards caudal fin, head slightly depressed and moderately large. Snout moderately large and pointed. Eyes dorsolateral, interorbital space moderately narrow. Caudal peduncle long and slender, clearly lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin with more or less rounded margin and no elongated spines. Caudal fin rounded. Scales present on body, sometimes visible on photographs at least dorsally. Predorsal area, nape and most of the area under the first dorsal fin naked. Live coloration. Background color light gray to beige, with many small, irregular, white or more or less dark dots and spots. Depending on the environment, light colors may prevail, with almost no recognizable patterns (Fig. 66 b). Or there can be more contrasting patterns: usually 5, sometimes ill-defined whitish dorsal saddles, 1 below first dorsal-fin, 2 below second dorsal fin, 2 on caudal peduncle (Fig. 66 a), and in some instances, a narrower and often fainter sixth saddle on nape above pectoral-fin base; sometimes a midlateral series of dark blotches, often ill defined; in some instances, a deep (i. e., not superficial) oblique blackish blotch between abdominal cavity and base of first dorsal fin. Typically 2 suborbital dark bars, one from anterior edge of eye to upper lip, a second one, less obvious and more irregular, from rear edge of eye to just behind corner of mouth (Fig. 66 a). Sometimes a whitish dot on nape, just behind eyes, more or less edged in dark pigment (quite similar to P. marmoratus and Deltentosteus quadrimaculatus). In males, first dorsal fin with alternate red-brown and pale longitudinal stripes, and an elongate black or bluish spot in its rear part, but not close to the edge (Fig. 66 a). Similar species. Pomatoschistus adriaticus, P. marmoratus, P. minutus. Habitat. Infralittoral species, on soft bottoms from a few centimeters to 10 m depth, mainly in brackish, low salinity water (Renoult et al. 2016; Patzner 2021). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean. Restricted in the Mediterranean to the northwestern coast of the western Mediterranean (Miller 1986). The easternmost and southernmost Mediterranean records are from Sicily (Tiralongo et al. 2019). In the Atlantic Ocean, known from the Canary Islands to Norway (Miller 1986).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F7BFFEDFF76FF11FC16FEA3.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI (VI – VII) + I, 10 – 12; A I, 9 – 12; P 18 – 21 (Miller 1986). Medium-sized goby with subcylindrical body, laterally compressed towards caudal fin, head slightly depressed and moderately large. Snout moderately large and pointed. Eyes dorsolateral, interorbital space quite narrow. Caudal peduncle long and slender, clearly lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin with more or less rounded margin and no elongated spines. Caudal fin rounded. Scales present on body and on predorsal area at least posteriorly, usually visible on photographs at least dorsally. Live coloration. Background color pale with irregular reticulation and light brown, white or gray spots. Usually light colored with no recognizable pattern (Fig. 67 a), but sometimes with more contrasting markings: 7, often illdefined whitish dorsal saddles, the first, narrower and often fainter than the others, on nape above pectoral-fin base, 2 below first dorsal-fin, 2 below second dorsal fin, 2 on caudal peduncle (Fig. 67); variable number of faint brown spots and vertical lines along midline, with one horizontal darker horizontal T-shaped blotch on caudal-fin base. One suborbital dark bar, often obvious, between eye and side of upper lip. No pale dot on nape behind eyes. First dorsal fin poorly pigmented, often with a blue-black spot on the distal rear corner, close to the edge, including in females (Fig. 67 b). Similar species. Pomatoschistus marmoratus, P. microps, P. norvegicus. Habitat. Infralittoral and circalittoral species, on soft bottoms from less than 1 – 70 m depth (Miller 1986). Geographic distribution. Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Sea. Recorded in the Mediterranean along the north coast from the Alboran Sea to Aegean Sea (Miller 1986; Özen et al. 2007), also common in the Black Sea (Miller 1986). In the Atlantic Ocean known from Gibraltar to Norway (Miller 1986).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F7AFFEDFF76FE01FE49FB4B.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 8; A I, 9 – 11; P 15 – 16 (Engin & Seyhan 2017). Very small goby with subcylindrical body, laterally compressed towards caudal fin, head slightly depressed and moderately small. Snout pointed. Eyes large. Caudal peduncle slender, lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin with more or less rounded margin and no elongated spines. Caudal fin slightly emarginate. Scales present, but not usually visible on photographs. Live coloration. Body mostly translucent (Fig. 68); most visible chromatophores are deep inside the body, arranged along the vertebral column in a white line interspersed with dark markings and then, three longer dark lines and finally an elongate spot on caudal-fin base. Superimposed on this deep pattern are 4 very thin dorsal white saddles and a fifth broader saddle on caudal peduncle; a midlateral dark spot, that may slightly extend ventrally, below each saddle. Body whitish ventrally, with vertical, iridescent, pale gray streaks. Cheeks pale. Usually no horizontal Y-shaped dark marking on opercle. On nape, 3 whitish to white markings just behind eyes with 2 dark longitudinal streaks in between, and underlined with dark on sides (Engin & Seyhan 2017; present work). Similar species. Pomatoschistus bathi, Pseudaphya ferreri. Habitat. Infralittoral and circalittoral species, on coarse sand close to rocky reefs at depths of 29 – 41 m (Engin & Seyhan 2017). Geographic distribution. Eastern Mediterranean. Known only from the northern coast of the Levantine Sea (Engin & Seyhan 2017).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F65FFF2FF76FF11FC26FC40.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 8 – 10; A I, 8 – 11; P 16 – 18 (Miller 1986). Moderately small goby with subcylindrical body, laterally compressed towards caudal fin, head slightly depressed and moderately large. Snout moderately large and pointed. Eyes dorsolateral, interorbital space moderately narrow. Caudal peduncle long and slender, clearly lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin with more or less rounded margin and no elongated spines. Caudal fin rounded (Miller 1986). Scales present on body, possibly visible on photographs, at least dorsally. Predorsal area scaled at least posteriorly. Live coloration. Body pale fawn, somewhat translucent, covered with faint darker reticulation and scattered ferruginous to orange dots (Fig. 69). Often a lateral series of dark blotches, largest one below first dorsal fin, and darker one on caudal-fin base. Usually a preorbital dark bar extending from the eye through upper lip, often to the chin. Adult male with about 10 – 12 narrow dark bars across side of body, pigmented breast, and a black spot bordered in blue dorsally and ventrally in rear part of the first dorsal fin (Miller 1986; Louisy 2015). Similar species. Pomatoschistus marmoratus, P. microps, P. minutus. Habitat. Infralittoral and circalittoral to bathyal species, from 18 – 325 m depth, soft bottom and mussel grounds (Miller 1986). Geographic distribution. Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean. In the Mediterranean, along the north coast from Alboran Sea to Aegean Sea (Miller 1986). Also recorded in the Adriatic Sea (Stefanni 2000). In the Atlantic Ocean known from Normandy, France and Irish coast to Norway (Miller 1986).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F64FFF3FF76FF11FDC7FC09.taxon	description	Size. Maximum size 4.6 cm total length (Miller 1986). Morphology. D VI (VI – VII) + I, 9; A I, 8 – 9; P 15 (Miller 1986). Small goby with subcylindrical body, laterally compressed towards caudal fin. Small head with short pointed snout. Eyes lateral. Caudal peduncle long and slender, clearly lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin with more or less rounded margin and no elongated spines. Caudal fin truncate to slightly emarginate. Scales more or less visible on body from reticulate pattern of pigmentation along scale edges. Live coloration. Background color pale beige to light gray, sometimes partly translucent, with variable dark or white patterns. When discernible, vertical black streaks (4 – 5 in males, 3 in females), restricted to the ventral two-thirds of body, typical for this species. Often 5 pale to golden dorsal saddles, the first, small and often faint, below first dorsal fin, the fifth just above the dark midlateral triangular blotch at caudal-fin base (Fig. 70). In translucent individuals, 4 deep elongated dark blotches run along the vertebral column (in addition to the caudal spot). Cheeks usually pale without dark markings. A dark, reddish or pinkish oblique stripe on gill cover, sometimes bifurcating on its lower part, somewhat reminiscent of the Y-mark of P. bathi.	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F64FFF3FF76FF11FDC7FC09.taxon	diagnosis	Similar species. Pomatoschistus bathi, P. knerii, Pseudaphya ferreri.	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F64FFF3FF76FF11FDC7FC09.taxon	biology_ecology	Habitat. Infralittoral species observed between 2 – 35 m depth, often in schools of ten to several hundred specimens, swimming up to 1 m above ground or resting on the substrate. They can be found on bedrock with macroalgae, more or less covered with sand, on coarse to muddy sand, or near Posidonia seagrass beds (Kovačić 2003, Louisy, unpublished data).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F64FFF3FF76FF11FDC7FC09.taxon	distribution	Geographic distribution. A Mediterranean species, known along the north coast from Alboran Sea to Aegean Sea (summarized by Patzner 2021).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F67FFF0FF76FF11FD01FC40.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI (V – VI) + I, 6 – 8; A I, 6 – 8; P 17 – 20 (Miller 1986). Small goby, with relatively robust subcylindrical body, laterally compressed towards caudal fin. Head slightly depressed and moderately large. Snout short. Eyes dorsolateral, interorbital space moderately narrow. Caudal peduncle slender, distinctly lower than body depth, more slender in females. First dorsal fin about equal to or lower than second dorsal fin, with more or less rounded margin. Caudal fin rounded. Scales visible on dead specimens from reticulate pattern of pigmentation along scale edges, visibility on live specimens unknown (Miller 1986). Freshly dead coloration. Body fawn with darker ferruginous reticulation. Usually 2 suborbital bars (with a pale area in between), one from anterior edge of eye to upper lip, a second one from rear edge of eye to corner of mouth; occasionally a dark bar at the junction of preopercle and opercle. Females with 3 conspicuous thin dark bars on posterior body (behind anus); bright yellow branchiostegal membrane (under head) and sometimes a yellow abdomen; a dark mark on chin (Fig. 71). Males with numerous, poorly-defined, vertical dark markings across sides; dark pelvic fins, breast and branchiostegal membrane (Miller 1986). Similar species. P. marmoratus, P. microps, P. quagga. Habitat. Infralittoral species, in lagoons, from brackish to slightly hypersaline, in shallows on sand near seagrass (Miller 1986). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean. Recorded from the central and southern Mediterranean from Sicily, Libya and Tunisia (Miller 1986; Mejri et al. 2009 b).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F67FFF0FF76FA88FA9EF84A.taxon	description	Morphology. D V + I, 7 – 10; A I, 9 – 10; P 15 – 16 (Miller 1973). Pedomorphic habitus. Body laterally compressed, slender compared to other gobies. Large lateral eyes, wide interorbital space. Mouth superior, oblique, tip of lower jaw reaching the horizontal level of pupil. Caudal peduncle slender, distinctly lower than body depth. The first dorsal fin about equal to or lower than second dorsal fin, with more or less rounded margin. Dorsal fins widely separate with a broad interdorsal space. Pelvic disc complete with anterior membrane. Caudal fin truncate to slightly emarginate. Scales present, but usually not visible on photographs. Live coloration. Body semitranslucent with 4 elongate black markings along vertebral column and a large, conspicuous, triangular black spot at the base of caudal fin (Fig. 30). A series of small black dots along lower margin of posterior body; white superficial speckles and markings in variable amounts. Similar species. Pomatoschistus quagga, P. bathi. Habitat. Pelagic and neritic species, recorded over coarse sand, muddy sand or partially sand covered bedrock from 2.5 – 20 m depth (Miller 1986; Kovačić 2003; Le Bris et al. 2016). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean. Recorded from the northwestern Mediterranean, the Adriatic Sea, northeastern Aegean Sea and northern Sinai, Egypt (Miller 1986; Kovačić & Golani 2007 b; Engin et al. 2018 a).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F66FFF1FF76FF11FB60FC25.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 9 – 11; A I, 11 – 12; P 13 – 15. Body elongate, its depth 6.0 – 7.0 in standard length. Head with short snout. Eyes dorsolateral, about upper one-third elevated above dorsal profile of head. Caudal peduncle slender, lower than body depth. First dorsal fin higher than second fin, the first spine longest, slightly prolonged in males, giving the fin a triangular shape. Pelvic fins united to form a disc, reaching origin of anal fin. Caudal fin rounded, slightly shorter than head. Scales on body ctenoid, no scales on head, nape, and prepectoral and prepelvic areas. Scales visible on dead specimens from reticulate pattern of pigmentation along scale edges, visibility on live specimens unknown. Freshly dead coloration. Finely mottled light brown dorsally, grading to white ventrally on head and abdomen, with a midlateral series of 9 – 10 gray to blackish blotches about eye size or smaller, the first 2 beneath pectoral fin and the last on caudal-fin base, the penultimate being the smallest; most of these blotches are bisected by a vertical, slightly curved, brown-orange line (Fig. 72). A series of similar curved lines below the midlateral row; scattered shorter brownish yellow dashes dorsally. First dorsal fin with three oblique dark crossbands; rays of dorsal three-fourths of caudal fin with aligned small dark dots. Similar species. Pomatoschistus marmoratus, P. microps. Habitat. Inhabits silty sand or mud bottom, generally at depths of less than 1 m. Able to quickly bury itself into the sediment to level of eyes; tolerates a wide range of salinities (Miller & Fouda 1986). Geographic distribution. Originally restricted to the Red Sea. In the Mediterranean, it has been recorded from Ashdod and Bardawil Lagoon (Miller & Fouda 1986; Golani 2021) and Syria (Ali 2018).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F61FFF6FF76FC0CFE38F817.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 6 – 7; A I, 5 – 7; P 14 – 15. Body slender, laterally compressed. Head slightly depressed behind eyes. Snout pointed, shorter than eye diameter. Caudal peduncle slender, lower than body depth. Second dorsal and anal fins with short base and low ray counts (see fin meristics). Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin with more or less rounded margin and no elongated spines, except in breeding males that have both dorsal fins higher (Zander & Jelinek 1976; Miller 1986; Kovačić et al. 2016; Engin et al. 2017). Caudal fin truncate. Scales present on body and on predorsal area, mostly not visible on photographs. Live coloration. Body primarily red (from rosy to yellow-orange to vermilion) with series of white blotches along dorsal and ventral sides (Fig. 12), 5 irregular whitish dorsal saddles (first below first dorsal-fin origin, second (wider) at interdorsal space, third below rear second dorsal fin, fourth at about middle of caudal peduncle and fifth just before caudal-fin base); a series of 5 – 6 barely-defined and somewhat coalescing white to yellowish blotches along ventral profile (first on belly below first dorsal fin, last on caudal peduncle). In males, body becoming yellow posteriorly, or at least the caudal fin; white blotches often reduced, sometimes absent, especially the lower ones; dorsal fins yellowish with at least one oblique pink to light purple stripe visible on each (Fig. 12 a). In females, background body color generally a uniform pinkish red (Fig. 12 b). Dorsal fins mostly transparent, usually with an oblique whitish stripe on each. While female colors and patterns appear to be quite constant, males may completely lose their white or pale blotches (Zander & Jelinek 1976; Fesser 1980; Miller 1986; Louisy 2015; Kovačić et al. 2016; Engin et al. 2017). Similar species. Speleogobius llorisi. Habitat. Infralittoral to circalittoral species, known from 8 – 48 m depth, most often on coralligenous beds and concretion, possibly on scree made of boulders, sometimes on deep rocks, on detritic coarse sand or in caves; may swim a few centimeters from the substrate (Zander & Jelinek 1976; Miller 1986; Le Bris et al. 2015; Louisy 2015; Engin et al. 2017; Bérenger et al. 2019 and pers. com.; Duhau et al. 2020 a). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean. Presently known from southern France (Duhau et al. 2015; Le Bris et al. 2015; Bérenger et al. 2019 and pers. com.; Iglésias et al. 2020), to the Aegean Sea (Engin et al. 2017), including the northern and southern Tyrrhenian Sea (Duhau et al., 2020 a, 2020 b) and the Adriatic Sea (Zander & Jelinek 1976; Miller 1986; Kovačić 1997).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F60FFF7FF76FF11FD81FBB5.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 11; A I, 10; P 17 – 18. Body relatively short, laterally compressed. Proportionately large head with a moderately steep snout profile. Anterior nostril tubular, with no dermal process from its rim. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin with more or less rounded margin. The uppermost pectoral-fin rays are within the membrane, there are no free rays (Miller 1969; Schultz 1975). Scales present on body, usually poorly visible on photographs. Predorsal area naked. Live coloration. Ground coloration grayish with a blue-green sheen on the back, covered with large and round dark spots (Fig. 5). Head, including the predorsal area, covered with brown to dark orange, smaller round spots, usually lighter and more reddish than the body blotches. Five large, dark brown, brown-purple to black midlateral blotches, circular in shape in the Mediterranean and 6 orange-brown blotches longer than deep in the Atlantic form (entering the Mediterranean just east of the Strait of Gibraltar). Above midline, 7 - 15 dark blotches smaller than midlateral blotches. First dorsal fin blue-gray with 2 brown transverse bands (sometimes faint or limited to brown spots). Dorsal, caudal and anal fins with a whitish to light blue margin (Schultz 1975; Kovačić & Svensen 2018). Similar species. Thorogobius macrolepis (or occasionally orange-spotted T. ephippiatus). Habitat. Infralittoral to circalittoral species, known from 2 – 156 m depth, on muddy sand, gravel or detritic substrata near crevices, beneath overhangs, in deep gullies or caves (Miller 1984; Stern et al. 2018; Renoult et al. 2022). Geographic distribution. Northern Mediterranean, presently known from almost every rocky shore between the Strait of Gibraltar in Spain and the Strait of Dardanelles in Turkey, including the Ligurian, Thyrrhean, Adriatic (Schultz 1975, Kovačić et al. 2012 a, Trkov et al. 2019) and Aegean Seas (Gerovasileiou et al. 2015), as well as the Levant basin eastwards to Cyprus and Israel (Stern et al. 2018). Probably present in the Black Sea; relatively widespread in the northern East Atlantic.	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F60FFF4FF76FB1DFB8BFEFF.taxon	description	Morphology. D V – VI + I, 10 – 12; A I, 10; P 17 – 20. Body relatively short, laterally compressed. Head moderately long, with a steep snout profile. Anterior nostril tubular, with no dermal process from its rim. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin with more or less rounded margin. The uppermost pectoral-fin rays are within the membrane with no free rays (Miller 1969; Ahnelt & Kovačić 1997). Scales present on body, usually poorly visible on photographs. Predorsal area naked. Live coloration. Ground coloration white to light gray with a light blue sheen on the back and pearly white markings ventrally. Orange to yellow-orange spots on body (Fig. 6). Five brick red to orange midlateral blotches, 2 to 3 times longer than deeper, each blotch sometimes appearing as 2 contiguous spots. Interspaces between blotches often pearly white. Many short line segments, horizontal or oblique, each of 3 - 5 light orange dots, above the lateral midline. Head and predorsal area covered with many orange spots larger than the dots of the back but smaller than the midlateral blotches. No V-shaped mark on snout (Fig. 6). One orange, oblique preorbital bar extending onto the upper lip; otherwise the lips are white. Dorsal fins blue-gray with three orange transverse bands and a broader whitish to light blue marginal band. Caudal fin also blue gray with 3 - 4 sinuous orange bars (Ahnelt & Kovačić 1997). Similar species. Gobius kolombatovici, Thorogobius ephippiatus. Habitat. Infralittoral and circalittoral species, known from 6 – 60 m depth, on detritic coarse sand and gravel, close to rocky shelters, typically at the foot of rocky walls (Glavičić & Kovačić 2016; Renoult et al. 2022). Geographic distribution. Northern Mediterranean, presently known from continental Spain (off Barcelona, Colección de referencia de otolitos, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar-CSIC via GBIF) and the Balearic Island of Ibiza (Ahnelt & Kovačić 1997), between Marseilles in France and Tuscany in Italy including Monaco (Francour 2007), Lipari Island (Italy; Muriel Duhau unpublished observation), the Adriatic (Kolombatović 1891; Ahnelt & Kovačić 1997; Guidetti et al. 2006; Trkov et al. 2019), the Turkish Aegean coast (Francour et al. 2007; Bilecenog ̆ lu & Yokes 2016), and further east in that country in the Levant basin (Bilecenog ̆ lu & Yokes 2016).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F63FFF4FF76FEA0FCE7FBEA.taxon	description	Size. Reaches 11 cm total length. Morphology. D VI + I, 11 – 13; A I, 10 – 12; P 19 – 20, single uppermost ray free. Body moderately elongate, nearly round anteriorly and laterally compressed posteriorly, depth 5.3 – 5.8 in standard length. Head large, somewhat depressed, with relatively short blunt snout. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth. First to fifth spines of first dorsal fin subequal in length, none elongate. Pelvic fins joined to form a disc. Caudal fin rounded, shorter than head (Boltachev & Karpova 2017). Scales present on body, usually poorly visible on photographs. No scales on head and prepectoral area; predorsal area naked. Live coloration. Body brown to beige, usually with 2 continuous or interrupted dark brown stripes (Fig. 9), first beginning from just above orbit, continuing along back and ending at upper caudal-fin base, second stripe extending from snout through eye along mid-side of body ending at caudal-fin midbase. Side of head with small pale spots. Another color form with stripes interrupted by pale interspaces, short brown bars on back and the black spot on upper caudal peduncle visible. A third color form is blackish with indistinct stripes.	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F63FFF4FF76FEA0FCE7FBEA.taxon	discussion	Similar species. Gobius vittatus.	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F63FFF4FF76FEA0FCE7FBEA.taxon	biology_ecology	Habitat. Inhabits sand and stone bottoms in marine and brackish waters at depths of 1 – 5 m.	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F63FFF4FF76FEA0FCE7FBEA.taxon	distribution	Geographic distribution. Native distribution range is confined to Japan, Korea and China. Introduced to eastern Pacific, Australia and Black Sea in the Sevastopol Bay (Boltachev & Karpova 2017). In the Mediterranean there is a single record from Ashdod, Israel (Goren et al. 2009).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F63FFF4FF76FBDBFEFFF953.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI, 40 – 50; A 39 – 47; P 15 – 20. Body very elongate and laterally compressed. A pouch-like cavity just above operculum. Head laterally compressed with reduced eyes. Dorsal and anal fins low, long and confluent with caudal fin. Pelvic fins fused medially, but connecting membrane between innermost rays emarginated posteriorly (Murdy 2006). Scales on body cycloid, no scales on head. Scales small, visible on body and predorsal area as pattern of pale dots. Fresh coloration. Head and body entirely reddish or pinkish red (Fig. 1 a). Similar species. None of Mediterranean Gobiidae. Habitat. Inhabits muddy or silty sand bottom in bays and brackish estuaries at depths of 10 – 90 m (Murdy 2006; Ergüden et al. 2018). Geographic distribution. Recorded from the Arabian Gulf east to Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines, unknown from the Red Sea. In the Mediterranean it has been collected in Israel (Salameh et al. 2010) and Turkey (Ergüden et al. 2018).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F63FFF5FF76F885FA8FFD10.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI + I, 16; A I, 17 – 18; P 18. Body slender, its depth 6.2 – 7.3 in standard length. Head subcylindrical, with short snout and large eyes elevated above dorsal profile. Caudal peduncle deep, but lower than body depth, and short compared to the elongate body shape. First dorsal fin moderately high, the fourth spine the longest, the third to fifth spines filamentous. Pelvic fins united, not reaching anus. Caudal fin lanceolate, longer than head length (Goren 1979). Scales visible on body only from reticulate pigmentation along scale edges, no scales on head and predorsal area. Live coloration. Body pale to grayish blue-green dorsally, most scales with a blackish edge and a yellow spot varying from semicircular to covering most of scale, grading to white on abdomen; yellow-spotted scales grouping anteriorly into vertically elongate yellow blotches; 5 large dark brown spots in a longitudinal row on side of body, some of them diffuse (Fig. 4), the first below first dorsal fin and vertically elongate. A small black spot behind upper end of gill opening, and another of the same size dorsally on opercle. Head and nape with numerous dark-edged yellow spots. First dorsal fin with 2 rows of large yellow-orange spots. Second dorsal and caudal fins with yellow spots basally on membranes. Similar species. Cryptocentrus caeruleopunctatus, C. steinhardti. Habitat. Inhabits silty sand bottom in bays and lagoons at depths of 2 – 52 m (deepest record from the Mediterranean). Lives in symbiotic association with a snapping shrimp (Alpheus sp.) (Louisy 2015; Louisy et al. 2016; Tiralongo & Pillon 2019). Geographic distribution. Known from the Red Sea to the Gulf of Oman. In the Mediterranean it has been recorded in Greece (Tiralongo & Pillon 2019), Israel (Goren et al. 2013) and Turkey (Bilecenog ̆ lu et al. 2008).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F62FFFAFF76FCC4FB75FF34.taxon	description	Morphology. D VI – VII + I, 9 – 10; A I, 8 – 9; P 16 – 17. A small species with a moderately elongated body. Caudal peduncle deep, almost as deep as body. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin with more or less rounded margin, can be pointed in males with the first spine longest (see Francour et al. 2010 *). Caudal fin rounded, 2 large spinous scales on upper and lower fin base (barely visible, even in close-up photographs). Pelvic fins are separated, also hardly visible from lateral view. Scales present on body, usually poorly visible on photographs. Predorsal area naked (Kovačić 2008 b). Live coloration. Head and body grayish with pale orange, reddish, rarely pinkish blotches and speckles, or indistinct bars of same colors on a paler background (Fig. 19), sometimes faded depending on the environment and the mood of the fish. Head mostly orange with irregular pale markings or speckles; the tubular anterior nostrils are white. Usually 8 – 9 pale areas along back (from nape to caudal peduncle), sometimes becoming small white saddles. A series of typical short pearly white bars arranged in 3 - 5 pairs on lower body (depending on how much visible they are), usually interspersed with midlateral orange elongated blotches. First dorsal fin translucent with orange-red dots along spines. Sometimes an elongate dark spot on anterior basal part of first dorsal fin, but not always visible in the field; this dark spot on the first dorsal fin is present in both sexes, but seems more commonly displayed by females (Van Tassell et al. 1988; Kovačić 2008 b; Louisy 2015). Similar species. Odondebuenia balearica, Corcyrogobius liechtensteini. Habitat. Observed or collected underwater by SCUBA diving between 27 – 60 m depth, often found lying on sediment at the foot of rocky or coralligenous walls or slopes, quickly hiding in a nearby cavity or shelter (Kovačić 2008 b; Francour et al. 2010 *; Le Bris et al. 2015; Glavičić & Kovačić 2016; Glavičić et al. 2016; Dubas et al. 2018). Most of the collected specimens were caught deeper, mostly with beam trawls between 54 – 160 m depth, on different habitats: coralligenous or rocky grounds, maërl, deep algal beds, shell debris, sand, mud (Pallaoro & Kovačić 2000; Ahnelt & Dorda 2004; Ordines et al. 2019 a). Geographic distribution. Eastern Atlantic and northern Mediterranean species. Types collected in Agadir, Atlantic coast of Morocco (Brownell 1978). Known in the Mediterranean from the Balearic Islands (Ordines et al. 2019) to the Aegean Sea, Peloponnese (Ahnelt & Dorda 2004); records include France, Gulf of Lion (Le Bris et al. 2015), French Riviera (Duhau et al. 2020 c), Corsica (Francour et al. 2010 *), Italy, Strait of Sicily (Consoli et al. 2019), Malta (Kovačić & Schembri 2019) and the Adriatic Sea (Pallaoro & Kovačić 2000; Ahnelt & Dorda 2004; Kovačić et al. 2012 b). * Although misidentified in the cited report, three good photographs allow for a positive identification of V. dollfusi (which makes them the first French record of this species). See also Louisy (2015).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F6DFFFAFF76FEA0FB1BFA56.taxon	description	Size. Maximum known size 4.1 cm total length. Morphology. D VI + I, 10 – 11; A I, 8 – 9; P 17. Small goby with a body more slender than in Zebrus zebrus, a large and somewhat flattened head, and a deep caudal peduncle of almost same depth as body. Eyes relatively small, snout slightly longer than eye diameter. Head wide, with large prominent cheeks (Fig. 29 c): head width at opercle level about 80 – 90 % of head length (compared to 50 – 75 % in Z. zebrus). Anterior nostril a tube with tentacle (Fig. 29 c); posterior nostril tube only slightly shorter (more than 80 % of the anterior). Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin with more or less rounded margin. The uppermost pectoral-fin rays partly free from membrane (Kovačić et al. 2021; present work). Caudal fin rounded. Body scaled, nape and predorsal area naked. Scales more or less visible on body from reticulate pigmentation along scale edges. Coloration. In dead or preserved specimens, body with 10 − 11 pale bars along side (Figs. 29 a and 29 b), first in front of the first dorsal fin, last at the end of the second dorsal fin. Very little is known for sure about this species’ in vivo coloration. Overall live coloration dark to pale brownish or greenish with thin, alternating, pale and dark bars (*). Usually, there are at least 4 pale bars under the first dorsal fin (Figs. 29 a and 29 b), but this pattern may disappear, the sides of body becoming uniformly colored or mottled dark. When present, the crescent band on head (broad pale transverse band across anterior nape extending on the sides reaching pectoral-fin bases) does not extend forward to eyes. First dorsal fin usually with a whitish longitudinal band, topped with a contrasting orangeyellow to pinkish distal half. Second dorsal fin with dark spots seldom coalescing in lines. (*) The pattern of lateral bars visible on dead or stressed animals do not exactly match the number and location of lateral markings usually displayed underwater (these 2 pattern types may superimpose to various extents). Similar species. Zebrus zebrus, Millerigobius macrocephalus, Chromogobius zebratus. Habitat. Shallow infralittoral species, known from 0 – 1 m depth between gravel and small boulders (Kovačić et al. 2021, 2022). Also found at 3 m depth (J. Renoult, unpublished data). Geographic distribution. Mediterranean. Recorded in the southern, central and northern part along the eastern Adriatic Sea, the northern part of the Ionian Sea, and the northern and western parts of the Aegean Sea (Kovačić et al. 2021, 2022). Also known from Palavas-les-Flots, southern France (J. Renoult, unpublished data).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
616687CB3F6DFFFBFF76F981FF00FBD4.taxon	description	Size. Maximum known size about 5.5 cm total length (6.1 cm in the Atlantic, Nieto & Alberto 1992). Morphology. D V – VI + I, 11; A I, 7 – 10; P 16 – 18. Small goby with a stocky body, a relatively large head and a deep caudal peduncle. Eyes quite large, snout slightly shorter than eye diameter. Head narrower than in Z. pallaoroi: head width at opercle level about 50 – 75 % of head length (vs. 80 – 90 % in Z. pallaoroi). Anterior nostril a tube with tentacle; posterior nostril tube clearly shorter (less than 40 % of the anterior). Caudal peduncle deep, almost same depth as body. Dorsal fins of similar height, the first dorsal fin with more or less rounded margin. Uppermost pectoral-fin ray may be almost free from membrane (Miller 1977; Louisy 2015, Kovačić et al. 2021; present work). Caudal fin rounded. Body scaled, nape and predorsal area naked. Scales more or less visible on body from reticulate pigmentation along scale edges. Live coloration. Head and body with a beige, brownish or greenish background. Body with 6 – 9 pale bars along side (Fig. 28 a), mostly visible on dorsal half (Miller 1977, Kovačić et al. 2021) (*). In the wild, unstressed animals often display pale dorsal saddles while the rest of body is more or less uniformly colored or mottled with dark pigment (Figs. 28 b); upper lateral dark markings reach to the base of dorsal fins. When present, the crescent band on head (broad pale transverse band across anterior nape extending on the sides until pectoral fin bases) does not extend forward to eyes (Fig. 28 b); it is usually quite well defined in shape and contours. First dorsal fin usually with 2 dark horizontal lines (the lower one often disrupted) with a whitish band in between, outer margin of the fin often with a reddish or yellowish tint. Second dorsal fin with brownish to reddish spots that may coalesce into slightly oblique lines. (*) The pattern of lateral bars visible on dead or stressed animals do not exactly match the number and location of lateral markings usually displayed underwater (these two pattern types may superimpose to various extents). Similar species. Zebrus pallaoroi, Millerigobius macrocephalus, Chromogobius zebratus. Habitat. Infralittoral species most often encountered between 0.1 – 3 m depth (Miller 1977) but also recorded down to 13 m (Engin et al. 2018 a) and 36 m (Kesici & Dalyan 2019). Occurs in a variety of inshore habitats, under stones or in rock clefts and cavities, in Cymodocea or Posidonia seagrass meadows (sheltering below shells), often in coastal lagoons (Miller 1977, Patzner 1999 a, Kovačić et al. 2012 a, Trkov et al. 2019). May be found in intertidal pools (Ahnelt 1990, Nieto & Alberto 1992, Trkov et al. 2019), and juveniles sometimes under sea urchins (Patzner 1999 b). Geographic distribution. Recorded along the Atlantic coastline of southwest Spain and south Portugal (Nieto & Alberto 1992; Kovačić et al. 2021) and along northern Mediterranean coasts (Miller 1986), from Alicante to the eastern Aegean Sea (Bogorodsky et al. 2010), the Levantine Sea from Rhodes (Miller 1977) to Syria (Saad 2005), and from the southern Mediterranean in Tunisia and Libya (Mejri et al. 2007). It has also been recorded from the Bosphorus Strait (Kesici & Dalyan 2019) and the Black Sea (Kovačić & Engin 2009; Boltachev & Karpova 2017).	en	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): 1-103, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5144.1.1, URL: http://zoobank.org/3d15f4cb-1839-41fc-bece-bae2d8f87cb5
