Proterorhinus semilunaris ( Heckel, 1837 )

Çiçek, Erdoğan, Sungur, Sevil, Fricke, Ronald & Seçer, Burak, 2023, Freshwater lampreys and fishes of Türkiye; an annotated checklist, 2023, Turkish Journal of Zoology 47 (6), pp. 324-468 : 434

Proterorhinus semilunaris ( Heckel, 1837) [N]― Western tubenose goby/Kaya balığı

Taxonomy. Original description: Gobius semilunaris Heckel, 1837: 152 , Pl. 8 (figs. 5-6) [Maritza (Marizza) River, near Plovdiv, eastern Rumelia, Balkan region of Bulgaria; syntypes: NMW 58144 (3)]. ― Synonyms: None. ― Revisions: None. ― Illustration: Heckel (1837: 152, Pl. 8, figs. 5-6).

Status in Türkiye. Listed in previous checklists from Türkiye by Bilecenoğlu et al. (2002, 2014); Kuru (2004); Geldiay and Balık (2007); Fricke et al. (2007) as P. marmoratus ; Kuru et al. (2014); Çiçek et al. (2015, 2020). ― Turkish material: None.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Türkiye: European Black Sea, northern Aegean Sea and Sea of Marmara watersheds. ― Distribution in river basins: 1-Meriç-Ergene, 2-Marmara, 3-Susurluk, 4-Kuzey Ege. ― General distribution: Black Sea basin. Introduced/invaded in elsewhere in Europe, in Minnesota and Michigan (Lake Erie, U.S.A.) and Canada (from ship’s ballast). ― Distribution in ecoregions: 418-Dniester - Lower Danube, 423-Thrace, 429-Western Anatolia. ― Habitat: This species as a variety of slow-flowing or still waters from estuarine to small, slowly flowing premontane streams. Usually associated with dense vegetation or coarse rocks. Often very abundant in backwaters and lakes, proliferates in reservoirs and channels. Freshwater, brackish.

Economic importance. No commercial importance.

Conservation. Conservation status in Türkiye: Unknown. ― IUCN: LC (IUCN, 2023). ― Threats: No major threats known. ― Low sensitivity to human activities. ― Not considered a keystone species. ― Decline status: Decreasing. ― Low priority for conservation action.