Author: (Risso, 1810)
Pomatoschistus marmoratus (Risso, 1810)
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Pomatoschistus marmoratus (Risso, 1810) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: lateral line system with sub-orbital row a with 1 transverse row; row b ending anteriorly below rear edge of eye; transverse rows beneath level of row b not descending through row d; head canals with pores w and d, sometimes pore b. Eyes dorsolateral. Branchiostegal membrane attached to entire side of isthmus. Predorsal area naked, but rear breast scaled. Pelvic disc anterior membrane with villose rear edge. Caudal fin rounded. Dl VI (V-VII); D2 I + 9 (8-10); A I + 9 (8-10); P 19-20 (17-21). Scales in lateral series 40-46 (37-48). Vertebrae 33 (31-34). Colour: sandy, with darker reticulation and saddles; adult male with 4 vertical dark bars across side, dark breast and distal spot on first dorsal fin; female with conspicuous dark chin blotch. Size: to 6.5 cm.
Habitat: inshore, sandy shallows, to 20 m (even 60-70 m over winter in Black Sea); enters brackish and hypersaline waters. Food: small crustaceans, chironomid larvae. Reproduction: spring and summer (Mediterranean); March to mid-September (Varna, Black Sea); repeat spawning. Eggs, 1.0 x 0.6 mm, under stones and shells. Sexually mature at 1 year. Fecundity 307-1,226 at 2.8-4.8 cm. Lifespan: 2 years.
Distribution: eastern Atlantic (Iberian Peninsula); Mediterranean, Black Sea and Sea of Azov; also Suez Canal and introduced to Lake Qarun, Egypt.
Eggs, larvae and young stages. (?) Sparta, 1936: 1, fig. 1-9 | Vodyanitzky and Kazanova, 1954: fig. 53 (3 fig.) | Georghiev, 1966: 170, fig. 8.
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.