Painted goby
Otolith description
Otoliths of gobiidae are all very similar in shape and are hard to identify to species level. The shape of the otoliths of painted goby is square. The sulcus is closed and runs diagonally. The ostium is slightly wider than the cauda. The cauda is dorsal from the ostium. The surface of the inside, the outside and margins are smooth. There may be a small rostrum visible, which is rounded. The antirostrum is indistinct. The posterior margin is lobate. The dorsal margin is rounded, while the ventral margin is straight. The inside of the otolith is flat and the outside convex. The otolith is thick. Otoliths of painted goby do not exceed 2.5 mm in length.
Otoliths of gobiidae are all very similar. The antirostrum is also indistinct in otoliths of black goby Gobius niger, but the rostrum is better developed compared to painted goby otoliths. Otoliths of transparent goby Aphia minuta and crystal goby Crystallogobius linearis are round instead of square and the inside of the otoliths is convex. In transparent goby the cauda is nearly invisible. On otoliths of crystal goby the whole sulcus is indistinct. Both common goby Pomatoschistus microps and sand goby P. minutus otoliths have a distinct antirostrum which is lobate. Otoliths of Lozano’s goby P. lozanoi do not have a well-developed rostrum and the posterior end is only slightly lobate or round.
When eroded the above-described differences disappear and are therefore not useful for identifying otoliths to species level. Eroded gobiidae otoliths are round with the sulcus slightly visible.
There is some difference in the maximum size of the fish and therefore in the otoliths:
crystal goby: <0.7 mm
transparent goby: <1.5 mm
common goby, Lozano’s goby: <2.0 mm
painted goby: <2.5 mm
sand goby: <3.0 mm
black goby: >3.0 mm
Fish length and distribution
Painted goby can grow up to 9.5 cm. Painted goby is a fish (POMAPICT.TIF) found in coastal waters, in depths up to 50 m. It has a strong preference for coarse bottoms, but also occurs on sandy grounds near rocky shores. In winter it migrates to deeper waters of the coastal zone. Spawning takes place from April to July (Wheeler, 1978, Nijssen and De Groot, 1987, Witte et al., 1991, Muus et al., 1999).
Painted goby is found in the coastal waters of the NE Atlantic and North Sea.
Sample origin
Western Wadden Sea and Southern North Sea.