Distribution and Biological Characteristics of Couch’s Goby Gobius couchi (Gobiidae), a New Species for the Black Sea

Abstract

Couch’s goby Gobius couchi was found for the first time off the southwestern coast of Crimea, in the coves of Sevastopol. Earlier, this goby was not noted in the Black Sea; its range included the Atlantic coasts of England and Ireland and the northeastern part of Mediterranean and Aegean seas. The present paper provides the description of the morphological characteristics of Couch’s goby, including the diagnostic features, the data on its distribution near the Crimean coasts, and some features of ecology and behavior. The data on fecundity and time of reproduction of this goby are presented for the first time. It is suggested that the appearance of Couch’s goby near the Crimean coasts is determined by the process of “Mediterranization” of the Black Sea.