Gobius cobitis Pallas 1814 —Giant goby

Taxonomy. First record from Lebanon as Gobius cobitis Pallas 1811 by George et al. (1964: 23); subsequently recorded as Gobius cobitis Pallas by Mouneimné (1977: 65); as Gobius cobitis Pallas 1811 by Mouneimné (2002: 215–216); recently recorded as Gobius cobitis by Harmelin-Vivien et al. (2005: 628). Material in collection:AUBM, BMNH and USNM.

Distribution. Mediterranean Sea, Sea of Marmara, Black Sea, eastern Atlantic: southern Ireland and southern England south to Morocco; Red Sea: recorded as NIS from the Gulf of Suez.

Conservation. IUCN: Global (LC: 11 March 2014); Med. (LC: 15 November 2007). Capture and threats: FIT, FIB, HAB, Unknown. Occurrence: Common. Low priority for conservation action .