Millerigobius macrocephalus (Kolombatović, 1891) (Fig. 27)—Large-headed Goby

Gobius macrocephalus Kolombatović, 1891: 22; type locality: Adriatic Sea, Croatia, Brač Island, Milna .

Size. Maximum size about 5 cm total length (Vanhove et al. 2011).

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. 27a) (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. 27b). 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. 27c). 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. 2021b), 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).