Gobies on the Turkish coast of the Black Sea, and first record of the yellow-headed goby, Gobius xanthocephalus Heymer & Zander, 1992

Abstract

Objective: Challenges in identifying species of the Gobiidae family and their high tolerance to salinity, which makes it difficult to determine their distribution boundaries, have prevented the achievement of a common checklist for these species in the Turkish waters of the Black Sea. In this study, we present a checklist of marine gobies, including the first record of the yellow-headed goby, Gobius xanthocephalus Heymer & Zander, 1992, in this region. Materials and Methods: On July 29, 2019, one individual of G. xanthocephalus was observed and photographed at a depth of 12 m by SCUBA diving on the coast of Giresun Island (40°55’41.75”N - 38°26’14.15”E), the southeastern Black Sea Basin. The other individual was photographed on November 4, 2023, at a depth of 3 m in Kapuz Beach (41°28’15.64”N - 31°48’2.56”E), the southwestern Black Sea Basin. Results: A list of species belonging to the Gobiidae family in the Turkish waters of the Black Sea was presented by reviewing the relevant literature, and the distribution of the yellow-headed goby was updated. Two new photo records of G. xanthocephalus from the Black Sea coasts of Türkiye are provided on Giresun Island and Zonguldak, between the depths of 3-12 m. Conclusion: Although the number of gobiid species reported in the relevant literature ranges between 16 and 35, the presence of 16 species was confirmed after excluding freshwater and brackish water species with the addition of the yellow-headed goby to this revised list. To accurately determine the distribution of these species with high salinity tolerance, comprehensive studies of freshwater, transitional, and marine waters in the southern Black Sea are necessary.

Keywords

• Gobiidae
• yellow-headed goby
• Black Sea gobies
• first record

References

1. Artuz, I. (1974). Biological information for sewage disposal in the Bosphorus. Project 1. Hidrobiology Research Institute of Istanbul University, Istanbul, 63 pp. google scholar
2. Beldade, R., Erzini, K., & Gonçavles, E.J. (2006). Composition and temporal dynamics of a temperature rocky cryptobenthic fish assemblage. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 86, 1221-1228. google scholar
3. Bilecenoğlu, M., Kaya, M., Cihangir, B., & Çiçek, E. (2014). An updated checklist of the marine fishes of Turkey. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 38(6), 901-929. google scholar
4. Boltachev, A.R., Karpova, E.P., & Danilyuk, O.N. (2009). Findings of new and rare fish species in the coastal zone of the Crimea (the Black Sea). Journal of Ichthyology, 49(4), 277-291. google scholar
5. Castillo, R., & Brito, A. (1982). Primera cita para las Islas Canarias de Gobius auratus Risso. 1810 (Pisces Gobiidae). Investigaciones Pesquera, 46, 391-396. google scholar
6. Depczynski, M., & Bellwood, D. (2003). The role of cryptobenthic reef fishes in coral reef trophodynamics. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 256, 183-191. google scholar
7. Engin, S., & Seyhan, K. (2009). Biological characteristics of rock goby, Gobius paganellus (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Gobiidae), in the south-eastern Black Sea. Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria, 39(2), 111-118. google scholar
8. FAO (2023). The State of Mediterranean and Black Sea Fisheries 2023 - Special edition. General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean. Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc8888en google scholar

9. Fricke, R., Eschmeyer, W.N., & Van der Laan, R. (eds) 2024. Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes: Genera, Species, References. (http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/ catalog/fishcatmain.asp). Electronic version accessed 10.06.2024. google scholar
10. Gökalp, M. (2011). Türkiye Deniz Canlıları Rehberi. İstanbul, Türkiye: İnkilap Kitabevi. google scholar
11. Heymer, A., & Zander, C.D. (1992). Le statut de Gobius auratus Risso, 1810 et description de Gobius xanthocephalus n. sp. de la Mediterranee (Teleostei: Gobiidae). Zoologische Jahrbücher, Systematik, 119(2), 291-314. google scholar
12. Keskin, Ç. (2010). A review of fish fauna in the Turkish Black Sea. Journal of Black Sea/Mediterranean Environment, 16(2), 195210. google scholar
13. Kovacic, M., & Patzner, R.A. (2012). North-Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Gobies. In Patzner, R.A., van Tassell, J.L., Kovacic, M. & Kapoor, B.G. (Eds.), The Biology of Gobies (pp.177-193). UK: CRC Press and Science Publishers. google scholar
14. Kovacic, M., & Svensen, R. (2019). Northern extension of Lesueurigobius friesii (Malm, 1874) (Pisces: Gobiidae) distribution and the gobiid diversity decline along the Norwegian coast. Acta Adriatica, 60(2), 147-156. google scholar
15. Kovacic, M., & Kovtun, O.A., (2022). The first record of Gobius incognitus (Actinopterygii: Gobiiformes: Gobiidae) from Malta. Acta Adriatica, 63(1), 53-58. google scholar
16. Kovacic, M., Lipej, L., Dulcic, J., Iglesias, S.P., & Goren, M. (2021). Evidence-based checklist of the Mediterranean Sea fishes. Zootaxa, 4998(1), 1-115. google scholar
17. Kovacic, M., Renoult, J.P., Pillon, R., Svensen, R., Bogorodsky, S.V., Engin, S., & Louisy, P. (2022). Identification of Mediterranean marine gobies (Actinopterygii: Gobiidae) of the continental shelf from photographs of in situ individuals. Zootaxa, 5144(1), 1-103. google scholar
18. Krivoguz, D., Mal’ko, S., & Semenova, A. (2002). Spatial analysis of salinity distribution patterns in upper layers of the Black Sea. E3S Web of Conferences, 203, 03010. EDP Sciences. google scholar
19. Mavruk, S., & Ak Örek, Y. (2017). A synthesis of ichthyoplankton studies in Turkish part of the Black Sea. Black Sea Marine Environment: The Turkish Shelf, 46, 567-587. google scholar
20. Mazzoldi, C., Patzner, R.A., & Rasotto, M.B. (2012). Morphological organization and variability of the reproductive apparatus in gobies. In Patzner, R.A., van Tassell, J.L., Kovacic, M. & Kapoor, B.G. (Eds.), The Biology of Gobies (pp.345-393). UK: CRC Press and Science Publishers. google scholar
21. Miller, P.J. (1986). Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. In: Whitehead, P. J. P., Bauchot, M.-L., Hureau, J.-C., Nielsen, J., Tortonese E. (Eds.), Gobiidae (pp. 10191085). VOL III, Unesco, Paris, ISBN: 92-3-002309-4. google scholar
22. Renoult J.P., Pillon R., Kovacic M., & Louisy P. (2022) Frontiers in fishwatching series - Gobies of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean: Gobius and Thorogobius. Les cahiers de la fondation Biotope, 37, 1-237. google scholar
23. Thacker, C.E. (2011). Systematics of Gobiidae. In Patzner, R.A., van Tassell, J.L., Kovacic, M. & Kapoor, B.G. (Eds.), The Biology of Gobies (pp.129-134). UK: CRC Press and Science Publishers. google scholar
24. Tsagarakis, K., Agius Darmanin, S., Al Mabruk, S.A., Auriemma, R., Azzurro, E., Badouvas, N., ... & Gerovasileiou, V. (2021). New records of rare species in the Mediterranean Sea (October 2021). Mediterranean Marine Science, 22(3), 627-652. doi:https://doi. org/10.12681/mms.26669 google scholar
25. Vasil’eva, E.D., & Bogorodsky, S.V. (2004). Two new species of gobies (Gobiidae) in the Black Sea. Journal of Ichthyology, 44(8), 555-562. google scholar
26. Yalgın, F., & Türker, A. (2023). Determination of fish diversity in the northern coasts of Cyprus (eastern Mediterranean) by visual census method. Marine Science and Technology Bulletin, 12(1), 111-122. https://doi.org/10.33714/masteb.1232007 google scholar
27. Yankova, M.H., Pavlov, D., Ivanova, P., Karpova, E., Boltachev, A., Öztürk, B., Bat, L., Oral, M., & Mgeladze, M. (2014). Marine fishes in the Black Sea: recent conservation status. Mediterranean Marine Science, 15(2), 366-379. https://doi. org/10.12681/mms.700 google scholar
28. Yildiz, T., Zengin, M., Uzer, U., Karakulak, F.S., & Akpınar, İ.Ö. (2019). Community structure of demersal assemblages in the southwestern Black Sea. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 32, 100844. google scholar