Chromogobius quadrivittatus ( Steindachner, 1863 )

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), pp. 1-103 : 45

Chromogobius quadrivittatus ( Steindachner, 1863) ( Fig. 24 )—Banded Goby

Gobius quadrivittatus Steindachner, 1863 ; type locality: Adriatic Sea , Croatia, Hvar .

Size. Maximum size 6.6 cm total length (Miller 1986).

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. 23a ). Snout prominent and mouth opening upwards ( Fig. 23a ). 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. 24a ), while another short saddle may be present below posterior part of that fin ( Fig. 24b ). Tip of lower jaw, top of snout and interorbital space grayish or white. Head usually with reticulate pattern, including cheeks ( Fig. 24a ), or cheeks densely dotted ( Fig. 23a ) ( 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).

Figures

FIGURE 23. Head clearly depressed (dorsoventrally flattened). A) Chromogobius quadrivittatus, photo by M. Colombo. B) Chromogobius zebratus, photo by M. Kovačić, photographed in a tank.

FIGURE 24. Live coloration in its natural habitat of Chromogobius quadrivittatus, photos by A) S. Engin, Aegean Sea, Turkey and B) M. Colombo, Area Marina Protetta Capo Caccia-Isola Piana, Alghero, Sardinia, Italy.