The painted goby (Pomatoschistus pictus) is a small goby of Western European waters from Trondheim Fjord to Spain, the Canary Islands and is sometimes reported in the Mediterranean Sea.[2] Also mentioned in the Black Sea.[3] It lives at depths from 1 to 55 metres (3.3 to 180.4 ft), preferring a gravelly or sandy environment. Its young may sometimes be found in tide pools. It feeds on amphipods and copepods.

Painted goby
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gobiiformes
Family: Gobiidae
Genus: Pomatoschistus
Species:
P. pictus
Binomial name
Pomatoschistus pictus
(Malm, 1865)
Synonyms
  • Gobius pictus Malm, 1865
  • Pomatoschistus pictus pictus (Malm, 1865)
  • Gobius rhodopterus Günther, 1861
  • Gobius affinis Kolombatović, 1891
  • Pomatoschistus pictus adriaticus P. J. Miller, 1973

Description

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The painted goby is a relatively small goby, only growing to 6 cm in length, although some may grow to 9.5 cm. It is fawn-brown, with a row of four double dark brown spots along the sides. The dorsal fin has rows of dark brown-black spots interspersed with bands of iridescent blue and pink.

References

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  1. ^ Herler, J.; Williams, J.T. & Kovacic, M. (2014). "Pomatoschistus pictus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T198550A45110312. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T198550A45110312.en.
  2. ^ Pomatoschistus pictus at FishBase
  3. ^ Black Sea Fishes Check List Archived 2011-01-25 at the Wayback Machine
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