Common goby

The Common goby (Pomatoschistus microps) is a small coastal fish of Western European waters from Norway to Portugal

it is of a sandy colour and reaches a length of 64mm. In the breeding season coloration the male has a dark blotch at the rear of the first dorsal fin. There is a fairly distinct row of black dots along its side.

Habits

The common goby breeds from March to June, laying its eggs under a shell, which the male then guards until they hatch 11–14 days later. Common gobies typically live for 12–15 months. They inhabit sandy-bottomed shallow areas, and in summer may enter estuaries; despite this usual habitat, they can often be found among dense vegetation and in brackish lagoons. Their diet is mostly small crustaceans, skeleton shrimp and worms.

External links

• MarLIN information on the common goby

References

• Katja U. Heubel, Kai Lindström, Hanna Kokko: Females increase current reproductive effort when future access to males is uncertain. Biol. Lett. (2008) 4, 224–227 Helsinki University