Discovery the golden goby Gobius xanthocephalus (Gobiidae)  in the area of the south-eastern coast of Crimea (Black Sea)

V. V. Shaganov; P. I. Donchik

Authors: V. V. Shaganov¹, P. I. Donchik²
Affiliations:
1. Kerch State Maritime Technological University, Kerch, RussianFederation
2. A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS, Sevastopol, Russian Federation
Keywords: golden goby, Gobiusxanthocephalus, Black Sea, South-Eastern Coast of Crimea

Abstract

Information is given about the discovery of the golden goby Gobius xanthocephalus Heymer& Zander, 1992 (Gobiidae, Perciformes) in the area of the South-Eastern coast of the Crimea (Black Sea), where this species was not previously recorded. An individual of this species was discovered during underwater ichthyological studies in the waters of the Dvuyakornaya Bay, near the north-eastern tip of the Kiik-Atlam Peninsula (44º57´N 35º23´ E ). The goby was recorded at a depth of 8.5 m at the foot of the underwater part of the rocky slope, in a shaded niche among a cluster of boulders. The discovery of the golden goby in the area of the South-Eastern Crimea indicates the expansion of its range in the polygaline waters of the northern part of the Black Sea.

Keywords: golden goby, Gobiusxanthocephalus, Black Sea, South-Eastern Coast of Crimea