The round goby is a euryhaline bottom-dwelling goby of the family Gobiidae, 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.
Eleotridae is a family of fish commonly known as sleeper gobies, with about 34 genera and 180 species. Most species are found in the tropical Indo-Pacific region, but there are also species in subtropical and temperate regions, warmer parts of the Americas and near the Atlantic coast in Africa. While many eleotrids pass through a planktonic stage in the sea and some spend their entire lives in the sea; as adults, the majority live in freshwater streams and brackish water. One of its genera, Caecieleotris, is troglobitic. They are especially important as predators in the freshwater stream ecosystems on oceanic islands such as New Zealand and Hawaii that otherwise lack the predatory fish families typical of nearby continents, such as catfish. Anatomically, they are similar to the gobies (Gobiidae), though unlike the majority of gobies, they do not have a pelvic sucker.
Cottus is a genus of the sculpin family Cottidae. They are often referred to as the "freshwater sculpins", as they are the principal genus of sculpins to be found in fresh water. They are native to the Palearctic and Nearctic.
Benthophiloides brauneri is a species of goby, a benthophilic fish native to the fresh and brackish waters of the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Sea of Azov as well as their surrounding rivers and estuaries. Despite the wide distribution, very few observations overall of this fish exist, and just one from the Caspian basin. It has been found in still waters at depths down to around 15 metres (49 ft). Males of this species can reach a length of 7.2 centimetres (2.8 in) SL while females only reach 5.1 centimetres (2.0 in) SL. This fish only lives for one year.
Knipowitschia caucasica, the Caucasian dwarf goby, is a species of goby native to marine, fresh and brackish waters along the coasts of the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, the Caspian Sea and the Aegean Sea and to the Haliacmon drainage of Greece. It inhabits shallow waters with plentiful weed growth where it can find its prey consisting of small crustaceans, the larvae of chironomids and the larvae of the mussel Dreissena polymorpha. Spawning takes place after their first winter with the eggs being deposited onto the roof of a cavity formed by rocks, shells or plant materials. The male will remain to defend the eggs. This species can reach a length of 5 centimetres (2.0 in) TL
The racer goby is a species of goby native to fresh, sometimes brackish, waters, of the Black Sea basin. 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.
The Syrman goby is a species of goby native to marine, brackish and probably fresh waters of the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Caspian Sea basins. They inhabit inshore waters with substrates composed of shell fragments, sand, mud or muddy sand. This species can reach a length of 24.5 centimetres (9.6 in) TL.
Proterorhinus marmoratus is a species of gobiid fish, a tubenose goby native to the brackish water parts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, near the coasts of Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Ukraine and Russia. Also it is found in the Marmora Sea (Turkey). It can reach a length of 11.5 centimetres (4.5 in) TL.
The Chornaya tubenose goby is a species of goby endemic to Crimea, Ukraine where it is only found in a short stretch of River Chornaya. Water is extracted in large quantities for irrigation could cause the stream to completely dry out in summer and thus poses a critical risk of extinction in a near future.
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
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.
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.
The tadpole-gobies (Benthophilus), also called pugolovkas, are a genus of Ponto-Caspian fishes in the family Gobiidae.
The stellate tadpole-goby is a species of gobiid fish native to the basin of the Sea of Azov where it occurs in the Gulf of Taganrog and limans of the eastern coast. It also lives in the lower Don River up to the Tsimlyansk Reservoir. It occurs in fresh and brackish waters of depths greater than 3 metres (9.8 ft), preferring shallow coastal lagoons and lowland rivers. Males can reach a length of 13.5 centimetres (5.3 in) TL while females only reach 11 centimetres (4.3 in) TL.
The eastern tubenose goby is a species of gobiid fish native to fresh and brackish waters of the basins of the Sea of Azov and the Caspian Sea and has invaded the upper reaches of the Volga River from its native occurrence in the delta. This species prefers slow flowing rivers or still waters with plentiful rocks or vegetation. It can reach a length of 9 centimetres (3.5 in) SL. It is probably the same species as that recently treated as Proterorhinus semipellucidus.
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 Kiev, 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.
Ponticola gorlap, or the Caspian bighead goby, is a species of goby, a benthic fish native to the Caspian Sea basin. It is widespread in lower parts of many rivers in Iran, and also found in Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. In Russia, it occurred in the lowest part of the Volga River up to Astrakhan until 1977, but has thereafter spread upstream. In 2000 it was recorded as being established in the Ivankovo and Rybinsk Reservoirs in the Moscow region, and already invaded the Don drainage by way of the Volga-Don Canal in 1972. This species occurs in sheltered environments, such as inshore fresh or brackish waters of estuaries, lagoons, lakes and large rivers, where it prefers habitats with a well vegetated rock or firmly packed sand substrate. It can reach a length of 20 centimetres (7.9 in) SL, and a common size is 12 centimetres (4.7 in) SL.
The granular pugolovka is a species of gobiid fish widespread in the Caspian Sea. It is a small fish, with a length up to 5.6 centimetres (2.2 in) TL. It was listed as Least Concern by the IUCN in 2008: there are no known major threats. Granular pugolovkas are very abundant in their habitat due to their size and lack of natural predators. The common name 'pugolovka' is a Ukrainian word for tadpole.
Hyrcanogobius bergi, the Volga dwarf goby, is a species of goby endemic to the Caspian Sea where it occurs in fresh, brackish and marine waters along the coast. Unusually for gobies, this species is almost a pelagic fish. This species grows to a length of 3.6 centimetres (1.4 in) SL. This species is the only known member of its genus. The specific name honours the Soviet zoologist Lev Berg (1876-1950) who described many new species of goby from the Caspian Sea.
