Gobius couchi Miller & El-Tawil, 1974

Iglésias, Samuel P., Bariche, Michel, Beau, Florent, Bérenger, Lucas, Beucher, Renaud, Chabrolle, Antoine, Cottalorda, Jean-Michel, Cousin, Bertrand, Curd, Amelia, Danet, Valentin, Duhamel, Erwan, Duval, Audrey, Farque, Pierre-André, Goascoz, Nicolas, Jadaud, Angélique, Larnaud, Pascal, Bouter, Mathieu Le, Bras, Yvan Le, Bris, Sylvain Le, Lombard, Laurent, Louisy, Patrick, Mandine, Alain, Mas, Lise, Menut, Thomas, Metral, Luisa, Poussard, Pierre, Quéro, Jean-Claude, Raybaud, Virginie, Renoult, Julien P., Richard, Thomas, Spitz, Jérôme, Ternon, Quentin, Thiriet, Pierre & Tournier-Broer, Ruben, 2021, French ichthyological records for 2019, Cybium 45 (3), pp. 169-188 : 181

Gobius couchi Miller & El-Tawil, 1974

Several Couch’s gobies, Gobiidae ( Fig. 8 A-B), were observed and photographed by L. Bérenger, S. Le Bris and J.P. Renoult while scuba diving on 15 Jun and 19 Aug 2019 at Plage de la Vieille, Saint-Mandrier-sur-Mer (43.0837°N,

5.9219°E), at 5-6 m depth. The individuals were found on muddy sands or coarse sands beside dead Posidonia mats in a very sheltered bay ( Le Bris et al., 2019g; Bérenger et al., 2019d). This observation represents the second record of a Couch’s goby population in French Mediterranean waters, after its first record at Port-Vendres in 2004 ( Louisy, 2005). Several Couch’s gobies ( Fig. 8C ) were observed and collected by S.P. Iglésias while scuba diving on 15 Sep 2019 off Porz Kerid in the Bay of Brest (48.3170°N, 4.3989°W, Finistère), at 4.3 m depth at low tide, during an excursion targeting fishes inhabiting maerl beds. Seawater bottom temperature was 17°C. These immature individuals were about 30 mm TL. A specimen 26 mm TL, 23 mm SL, 6 mm HL, was preserved with the collection No. MNHN-IC 2021-0149 and a tissue sample was preserved under No. BPS-4280. The species was recorded in 2018 for the first time on the French coast of the English Channel ( Iglésias et al., 2020). In this area, this goby seems to be associated with sheltered bays and estuaries. It is poorly known and probably often confused with similar species living in these habitats such as G. niger (Linnaeus, 1758) or G. paganellus (Linnaeus, 1758) ( Baldock and Kay, 2012) .

Figures

Figure 8. – Significant French ichthyological records for 2019 (continued). A: Gobius couchi, ~7 cm TL, 15 June 2019 (© S. Le Bris); B: G. couchi, ~8 cm TL, 19 Aug 2019 (© L. Bérenger); C: G. couchi, 26 mm TL, 15 Sep 2019, MNHN-IC 2021-0149 (© S.P. Iglésias); D: Gobius gasteveni, 27 mm TL, 30 Aug 2019 MNHN-IC 2021-0150, in aquarium, reversed image (© S.P. Iglésias); E, F: Lebetus guilleti, 19.5 and 19 mm TL, male and female, 15 Sep 2019, MNHN-IC 2021-0154, and 2021-0155, respectively (© S.P. Iglésias); G: L. guilleti, 21 and 18 mm TL, two males and a female, 30 Aug 2019, MNHN-IC 2021-0151, 2021-0153 and 2021-0152 from left to right respectively, in aquarium (© S.P. Iglésias).