Sand goby

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Sand goby
Pom min.jpg

Sand goby ( Pomatoschistus minutus )

Systematics
Spinefish (Acanthopterygii)
Perch relatives (Percomorphaceae)
Order : Gobies (Gobiiformes)
Family : Oxudercidae
Genre : Pomatoshistus
Type : Sand goby
Scientific name
Pomatoschistus minutus
( Pallas , 1770)

The sand goby ( Pomatoschistus minutus ) is a marine fish that occurs on the coasts of the northeastern Atlantic from Portugal across the Atlantic coasts of Europe, the British Isles to the North and Baltic Seas and further to northern Scandinavia ; a subspecies also lives in the northern Mediterranean and the Black Sea .

features

Sand gobies reach a maximum length of 11 centimeters and have an elongated, club-shaped body with a rounded head. The gap in the mouth is noticeably inclined upwards. They are sandy-brown in color with irregularly distributed light spots as a pattern. At the rear edge of the first dorsal fin is a dark spot that is lined with white.

The first dorsal fin is supported by 6 to 7 fin rays, the second dorsal fin, separated by a gap, by a hard ray and 8 to 10 soft rays. The anal fin has one hard and 7 to 10 soft rays. The pectoral fins are formed by 17 to 19 soft rays. The pelvic fins located on the chest are fused together and form a suction disc. There are 55 to 75 scales along the sidelines .

distribution

The sand goby lives in the northeastern Atlantic and occurs from Portugal across the Atlantic coasts of Europe, the British Isles to the North and Baltic Seas and further to northern Scandinavia . The subspecies P. m. elongatus also lives in the northern Mediterranean and the Black Sea .

Way of life

Sand gobies live near the coast from the water surface to a depth of 20 and very rarely up to 70 meters. They prefer sandy and muddy beaches. They usually live in lake water, but juveniles also go to the brackish water of river headwaters. They feed mainly on bottom-living crustaceans, worms, mosquito larvae and other invertebrates.

Reproduction

Sand gobies spawn in the summer from March to September. The males form territories during the mating and egg-laying time and dig hollows under empty mussel shells, for example from Cyprina or Ostrea , in which the females lay the eggs. The Rogner lay up to 3,000 pear-shaped, 0.9 to 1.4 millimeter eggs in several stages. The clutches are guarded by the males until the young fish hatch after 1 to 3 weeks.

The larvae, which are around 3 millimeters long when they hatch, initially live pelagically in open water. The juvenile fish move on to bottom life at a size of 18 mm. They become sexually mature after about a year, the lifespan is about 2 years.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Andreas Vilcinskas : Fish - Central European freshwater species and marine fish of the North and Baltic Seas . BLV Verlagsgesellschaft, Munich 2000; P. 172. ISBN 3-405-15848-6 .
  2. ↑ Sand goby on Fishbase.org (English)

literature

Web links