Goby (redirected from Dwarfgoby)

goby, common name for a member of the family Gobiidae, small marine fishes familiar in shallow waters, especially along southern shores. Gobies may be either scaled or scaleless; all species have the ventral fins modified into a sucking disk, as in the clingfish of the family Gobiesocidae. The naked goby (3 in./7.5 cm) is found S of Cape Cod and the sharptail goby (6 in./15 cm) in brackish bays along the Atlantic coast. The sleeper, or guavina, occasionally grows large enough to be used as food. The round goby, native to the Black, Caspian, and Azov seas, has become a common pest species in the Great Lakes. On the Pacific coast the longjaw goby, or mudsucker, is a common bait fish. The most popular of many aquarium species is the bumblebee goby, native to S Asia. Gobies are classified in the phylum Chordata, class Osteichthyes, order Perciformes, family Gobiidae.

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goby

Any of more than 800 species of carnivorous fishes (suborder Gobioidei, order Perciformes), found worldwide but especially abundant in the tropics. Most species are small bottom dwellers with a weak suction cup formed by the fusion of their pelvic fins. About 700 species are typically elongated, sometimes scaleless fishes found along shores and among reefs in tropical and temperate seas. They have two dorsal fins and a rounded tail, lack a lateral line (sensory organ along the side of the body), and are often brightly coloured. Most adults are no longer than 4 in. (10 cm).

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goby

1. any small spiny-finned fish of the family Gobiidae, of coastal or brackish waters, having a large head, an elongated tapering body, and the ventral fins modified as a sucker

2. any other gobioid fish

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Goby 

(Gobiidae), a family of fish of the order Perciformes. The structure of its ventral fins is characteristic: they usually grow together forming a sucking disk. There are approximately 600 species. It is distributed along the coastal seas in tropical and temperate latitudes, also in brackish and fresh waters.

In the USSR the greatest variety of gobies is found in the Black, Azov, and Caspian seas, where a number of commercial species are found, including Gobius melanostomus, G. fluviatilis, G. batrachocephalus, G. ophiocephalus, and others. Gobies were brought to the Aral Sea during the acclimatization of other fishes. Some species are distinguished by their small size: the Philippine goby (Mystichthys luzonensis) has a length of 10-14 mm, and the Caspian goby (Hyrcanogobius bergi), 21 mm. Gobies reproduce in spring and summer. The roe attaches to under-water objects and is often protected by the parents. The small Black Sea goby (Pomatoschistus) lays its roe in the empty shells of the Cardium mollusk. Most gobies feed on benthic invertebrates, but there are also predatory and planktonophagic species. The goby is used in fresh or canned form.

REFERENCE

Berg, L. S. Ryby presnykh vod SSSR i sopredel’nykh stran, 4th ed., part 3. Moscow-Leningrad, 1948-49.
Svetovidov, A. N. Ryby Chernogo moria. Moscow-Leningrad, 1964.

A. A. SVETOVIDOVA

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Goby 

(Perccottus glehni), a small freshwater fish of the family Eleotridae. Length, up to 20 cm. Color varies from light to dark; in mating its coloration turns nearly black, and irregular dark-reddish spots appear on the sides.

The goby is found in the basin of the middle and lower Amur River and in bodies of water in northwestern Sakhalin and northeastern Korea. It is also seen in ponds near Moscow and Leningrad, where it was brought by amateur aquarium keepers. The goby prefers still waters. It feeds on fry, mollusks, and insect larvae. Spawning occurs from May to July. The eggs are laid on thick plant stems and other objects; the male protects the eggs.