Racer goby

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Racer goby
Racer goby from the Bug River 4.jpg
The Racer Goby from the Bug River, Poland
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gobiiformes
Family: Gobiidae
Genus: Babka
Iljin, 1927
Species:
B. gymnotrachelus
Binomial name
Babka gymnotrachelus
(Kessler, 1857)
Racer goby map.png
The range of the racer goby
Synonyms
  • Gobius gymnotrachelusKessler, 1857
  • Mesogobius gymnotrachelus(Kessler, 1857)
  • Neogobius gymnotrachelus(Kessler, 1857)
  • Gobius macropusDe Filippi, 1863
  • Gobius burmeisteriKessler, 1877
  • Mesogobius gymnotrachelus otschakovinusZubovich, 1925

The racer goby (Babka gymnotrachelus) is a species of goby native to fresh, sometimes brackish, waters, of the Black Sea basin. [2] It is a Ponto-Caspian relict species. The species is placed a monotypic genus, Babka, which was once considered a subgenus of genus Neogobius , but was then elevated to genus-status based on the molecular analysis. [3] [4]

Contents

Characteristics

The head of the racer goby from the Dnieper River near Kyiv Racer goby head.jpg
The head of the racer goby from the Dnieper River near Kyiv

It has 7–8 dorsal spines, 14–18 dorsal soft rays, a single anal spine and 12–16 anal soft rays. This species is distinguished from its relatives in Neogobius based on multiple characteristics. B. gymnotrachelus has diagonal bars of irregular position and shape. The first branched ray of second dorsal is about as long as its penultimate ray. It lacks scales on the midline of its nape, anterior to its preoperculum. It has a pelvic-disc fraenum with small rounded lobes and length less than 1/6 of width at base. It has 54–62 + 2–3 scales in midlateral series. The posterior part of first dorsal has no black spot.

Ecology

Range

This goby inhabits the coasts of Turkey, the rivers of the Caucasus, including Inguri, Rioni and the rivers of Kolkhida, including Lake Paliastomi, Lake Suzha. In the north-western Black Sea it inhabits the Dnieper-Bug Estuary, Dniester Estuary, near the Tendra sandbar and Berezan Island. In the Danube River it is widespread up to Vidin, and lives in tributaries and lakes of Danube delta, including Brateş, Kahul, Yalpug, Katlabuh, Kitay, Razelm, etc. It inhabits the Dniester River and its tributaries, including Zbruch, Zhvanchik, Smotrych, Răut, Bîc, Dubăsari Reservoir. It is common in the Southern Bug River and in the Dnieper River as far as Kyiv. It lives in the Kamchiya River and Lake Shablensko in Bulgaria. In the Sea of Azov it is in Taganrog Bay and the Don, Aksay, Seversky Donets rivers. It also inhabits the Caspian Sea, where it is represented by the subspecies Babka gymnotrachelus macrophthalmus, which further research may show to be a separate species. [1]

The racer goby inhabits but is non-indigenous in the rivers of the Baltic basin, including the Bug and Vistula. [5] [6] [7] It was also introduced in the Middle Danube, in Hungary. [8] The westernmost locality of this species range is the German sector of the Danube River, where this fish occurred first in 2011. [9] The information about the introduction of this species to the Lower Rhine River [10] is considered erroneous. [9]

Feeding

In the Dniester Estuary half of the racer goby's diet consists of fish. The rest is a mix of crustaceans (Corophiidae) (29.6%), molluscs ( Dreissena , Adacna , Monodacna ) (12,5%) and polychaete worms of the species Hypania invalida . [11] In the Dnieper River near Kyiv the diet consists of molluscs Dreissena sp., amphipods and sewage worms Tubifex tubifex .

Related Research Articles

Gobiidae Family of fishes

Gobiidae is a family of bony fish in the order Gobiiformes, one of the largest fish families comprising more than 2,000 species in more than 200 genera, sometimes referred to as the "true gobies". Most of them are relatively small, typically less than 10 cm (3.9 in) in length. The Gobiidae includes some of the smallest vertebrates in the world, such as Trimmatom nanus and Pandaka pygmaea, Trimmatom nanus are under 1 cm long when fully grown, then Pandaka pygmaea standard length are 9mm (0.35 in),maximum known standard length are 11 mm (0.43 in). Some large gobies can reach over 30 cm (0.98 ft) in length, but that is exceptional. Generally, they are benthic, or bottom-dwellers. Although few are important as food for humans, they are of great significance as prey species for commercially important fish such as cod, haddock, sea bass, and flatfish. Several gobiids are also of interest as aquarium fish, such as the dartfish of the genus Ptereleotris. Phylogenetic relationships of gobiids have been studied using molecular data.

Round goby Species of fish

The round goby is a fish. Defined as a euryhaline bottom-dwelling goby of the family Gobiidae, it is native to central Eurasia, including the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Round gobies have established large non-native populations in the Baltic Sea, several major Eurasian rivers, and the North American Great Lakes.

Monkey goby Species of fish

The monkey goby is a species of goby native to the basins of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

<i>Neogobius</i> Genus of fishes

Neogobius is a genus of goby native to Black Sea and the Caspian Sea basins. It is part of the broader Benthophilinae subfamily which is also endemic to the same region. Nevertheless, two Neogobius species have recently turned out to be highly invasive and spread across Europe and even to the Great Lakes of North America.

<i>Ponticola kessleri</i> Species of fish

Ponticola kessleri, the bighead goby or Kessler's goby, is a species of goby native to Eurasia. The bighead goby is a Ponto-Caspian relict species. It inhabits the fresh and oligohaline waters, with mineralisation from 0-0.5‰ up to 1.5-3.0‰.

Lake Sapanca

Lake Sapanca is a fresh water lake in Turkey, between the Gulf of İzmit and the Adapazarı Meadow. The lake has a catchment area of 251 km², surface area is 45 km², a length 16 km east-west / 5 km north-south, and a maximum depth of 52 m. Lake Sapanca, Turkey

Western tubenose goby Species of fish

The western tubenose goby is a species of goby native to fresh waters of the Black Sea and Aegean Sea basins,. It has recently spread as an invasive species to Central and Western Europe and to North America. Previously Proterorhinus semilunaris was considered as a junior synonym of Proterorhinus marmoratus, but was confirmed as a distinct species based on molecular analysis.

<i>Ponticola</i> Genus of fishes

Ponticola is a genus of gobies native mostly to fresh waters of the Black Sea - Caspian Sea region in Eurasia. Some species occur in the brackish-water Black and Caspian seas themselves. It was considered to be part of the broader goby subfamily Benthophilinae, also endemic to the same region, although the 5th edition of Fishes of the World does not list any subfamilies in the Gobiidae. Originally, Ponticola was described as subgenus of Neogobius.

<i>Proterorhinus semipellucidus</i> Species of fish

Proterorhinus semipellucidus is a species of gobiid fish, a tubenose goby originally described from the Gharasu River near Gorgan Bay of the Caspian Sea in Iran. Following the systematic decomposition of the tubenose gobies it was suggested to be a more widespread and invasive taxon distributed in the fresh waters of the Caspian Sea basin. It may be the same species as that known as Proterorhinus nasalis.

Tadpole goby Genus of fishes

The tadpole-gobies (Benthophilus), also called pugolovkas, are a genus of Ponto-Caspian fishes in the family Gobiidae.

<i>Proterorhinus</i> Genus of fishes

Proterorhinus is a genus of fishes, known as the tubenose gobies. These gobiid fish are native to Eurasia where they occur in the region of the Caspian and Black seas, inhabiting marine, brackish and fresh waters. The species Proterorhinus semilunaris was introduced to the St. Clair River in Michigan during the late 1990s. Until recently, the genus was considered monotypic, comprising only the tubenose goby. Following molecular and further morphological investigations it has been split into several taxa, with distinct distributions in marine vs. fresh waters and in the Black Sea vs. Caspian Sea basins.

Black Sea tadpole-goby Species of fish

The Black Sea tadpole-goby is a species of goby native to the basin of the Black Sea. Found in the Gulf of Tendra and limans of the north-western Black Sea, lakes of the Danube Delta. In the rivers of the Black Sea basin: Danube up to Iron Gate dam, Dniester up to Tighina, Dnieper up to Kyiv, Southern Bug. This species is mostly a denizen of fresh and slightly brackish bodies of water, preferring rivers and deltas, limans and coastal lakes. This fish can reach a length of 15 centimetres (5.9 in) TL.

Benthophilinae Subfamily of fishes

The Benthophilinae are a subfamily of gobies endemic to the Ponto-Caspian region. The subfamily includes about 50 species. The representatives of the subfamily have fused pelvic fins and elongated dorsal and anal fins. They are distinguished from the closely related subfamily Gobiinae by the absence of a swimbladder in adults and location of the uppermost rays of the pectoral fins within the fin membrane.

Gobiinae Subfamily of fishes

True gobies were a subfamily, the Gobiinae, of the goby family Gobiidae, although the 5th edition of the Fishes of the World does not subdivide the Gobiidae into subfamilies. They are found in all oceans and a few rivers and lakes, but most live in warm waters. Altogether, the Gobiinae unite about 1149 described species in 160 genera, and new ones are still being discovered in numbers.

Neogobius pallasi, the Caspian sand goby or the Caspian monkey goby, is a species of fish native to fresh and brackish waters of the Caspian Sea basin including the Volga drainage up to the vicinity of Moscow. It has been introduced into the Aral basin. This species of goby can reach a length of 20 centimetres (7.9 in) SL. It is also important to local commercial fisheries.

<i>Ponticola bathybius</i> Species of fish

Ponticola bathybius is a species of goby endemic to the Caspian Sea, where it occurs in depths down to 200 metres (660 ft). It is strictly confined to the brackish-water basin and does not enter fresh waters. It can grow up to a length of 25 centimetres (9.8 in) TL.

Caspiosoma caspium is a species of Ponto-Caspian goby native to the deltas of rivers inflows to the north-western Black Sea: Dnieper up to Berislav, also in the Dnieper-Bug Estuary and Berezan Estuary, Danube, Dniester with the estuary, Cuciurgan Reservoir. Found in the delta of the Don River, Volga, central and northern parts of the Caspian Sea and rivers flowing into the Sea of Azov. It can be found at depths of from 2 to 8 metres. This species can reach a length of 4.5 centimetres (1.8 in) TL. It is currently the only known member of its genus.

<i>Benthophilus ragimovi</i> Species of fish

Benthophilus ragimovi is a deepwater species of gobiid fish found along the western coasts of the Caspian Sea, from the Chechen Island to Astara, Azerbaijan. It is one of the numerous species of benthophiline gobies endemic to the Ponto-Caspian region.

Sand goby may refer to several species of fishes of Gobioidei:

References

  1. 1 2 Freyhof, J.; Kottelat, M. (2008). "Babka gymnotrachelus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2008: e.T188118A8643960. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T188118A8643960.en . Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Smirnov A.I. (1986) Perch-likes ( gobiids ), scorpionfishes , flatfishes , clingfishes , anglerfishes [in:] Fauna of Ukraine , Vol. 8, No 5, Kyiv : Naukova Dumka, 320 pp. (in Russian)
  3. ↑ Stepien C.A., Tumeo M.A. (2006): Invasion genetics of Ponto-Caspian gobies in the Great Lakes: a "cryptic" species, absence of founder effects, and comparative risk analysis. Biological Invasions, 8: 61–78.
  4. ↑ Neilson M.E., Stepien C.A. (2009) Escape from the Ponto-Caspian: Evolution and biogeography of an endemic goby species flock (Benthophilinae: Gobiidae: Teleostei). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 52(1): 84-102. doi : 10.1016/j.ympev.2008.12.023
  5. ↑ Danilkiewicz Z. (1996): Babka łysa (gołogłowa), Neogobius gymnotrachelus (Kessler, 1857) (Perciformes, Gobiidae) - nowy, gatunek w ichtiofaunie zlewiska Morza Bałtyckiego. Komunikaty Rybackie, 2: 27–29.
  6. ↑ Kostrzewa J., Grabowski M., Zięba G. 2004. Nowe inwazyjne gatunki ryb w wodach Polski. Archives of Polish Fisheries 12 (suppl. 2): 21-34. Archived 2009-02-19 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Jaroszewska, M.; Dabrowski, K.; Wilczyńska, B.; Kakareko, T. (2008). "Structure of the gut of the racer goby Neogobius gymnotrachelus (Kessler, 1857)". Journal of Fish Biology. 72 (7): 1773–1786. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2008.01870.x.
  8. ↑ Guti G. (2004) First record of Racer Goby Neogobius gymnotrachelus (Pallas, 1811) in the Hungarian section of the Danube. Opusc. Zool. Budapest, 35: 83-84.
  9. 1 2 Haertl, M., Cerwenka, A. F., Brandner, J., Borcherding, J., Geist, J. & Schliewen, U. K. (2012). "First record of Babka gymnotrachelus (Kessler, 1857) from Germany (Teleostei, Gobiidae, Benthophilinae)" (PDF). Spixiana. 35 (1): 155–159.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  10. ↑ Borcherding, J.; Gertzen, S.; Staas, S. (2011). "First record of Pontian racer goby, Babka gymnotrachelus (Gobiidae: Teleostei), in the River Rhine, Germany". Journal of Applied Ichthyology. 27 (6): 1399–1400. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0426.2011.01773.x.
  11. ↑ Strautman I.F. (1972) Pitaniye i pishchevyje vzaimootnoshenija bychkov (sem. Gobiidae) Dnestrovskogo limana. Vestnik Zoologii, 4: 35-38. (in Russian)
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