Black Sea tadpole-goby (Benthophilus nudus)

Scientific name: Benthophilus nudus Berg, 1898

The Black Sea tadpole-goby (Benthophilus nudus) is a freshwater fish of the family Gobiidae.

Biology

This species is distinguished from its congeners by the following characters: a tubercle between eyes; numerous, densely-set granules on head and flanks, also between dorsal and upper lateral rows of tubercles on caudal fin; head width 77-92% HL; tubercles in dorsal row 26-29, ventral row 22-25, upper lateral row over 20 (not markedly smaller on caudal peduncle), lower lateral row up to 10; chin barbel slightly compressed, thick, about half in eye diameter in length; origin of D2 in front of anal origin; transverse rows of neuromasts on flank 19-23; a dark spot often in front of D2; sides with dark blotches and irregular dots; a blotch around base of first dorsal not reaching origin of D2.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Benthophilus nudus
Family
Gobiidae (Gobies)
Order
Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
15.0
Environment
Freshwater; brackish; demersal
Climate
Temperate
Distribution
Europe: in Tendrovskiy Bay, occurs in limans and coastal lakes of north-western Black Sea, lakes of Danube delta; in rivers, found rather far upstream from Danube to Iron Gate dam, Dniester to Bendery, South Bug to Aleksandrovskaya dam (formerly) Gard rapids. Invasive in Dnieper reservoirs after damming in late 1940s where it now reaches up to Kiev and Ingulets up to Snegirevka.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Least Concern (LC)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries:
Resilience
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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