First record of the naked goby Gobiosoma bosc (Lacepède, 1800) in European waters

Identification of gobies (Teleostei: Perciformes: Gobiidae) from the North and Baltic Seas combining morphological analysis and DNA barcoding

“…Additionally, the specimens of G. flavescens and Gobiosoma bosc (Lacepède, 1800) were characterized by the highest number of first dorsal‐fin spines among the analysed species (Tables and ). Gobiosoma bosc (Thiel et al ., ) was easily distinguished from G. flavescens based on its lack of body scales (Thiel et al ., ). Furthermore, G. bosc has more second dorsal‐fin rays and fewer total vertebrae than G. flavescens (Table ).…”

“…Basic characters (Table ) of all specimens were counted and then fish were identified according to characters given by Miller (), Thiel et al . () and Hempel & Thiel (). The number of vertebrae, dorsal‐fin spines and rays, as well as anal‐fin rays of all specimens were counted from radiographs (Fig.…”

“…in the Weser river and Elbe estuary (Brunken et al ., ; Hempel & Thiel, ). The naked goby Gobiosoma bosc (Lacepède, 1800), a western Atlantic gobiid species, has been recently reported for the first time in the Weser estuary (Thiel, Scholle & Schulze, ). The record of both adult male and female individuals could be a sign of possible future establishment in German waters.…”

Peer Review #1 of "Distribution and population structure in the naked goby Gobiosoma bosc (Perciformes: Gobiidae) along a salinity gradient in two western Atlantic estuaries (v0.1)"

“…Very little is known about the non-native population of naked gobies in the Weser estuary, Germany. Thiel et al (2012) reported that multiple individuals were collected in a stow net in 2009 by a commercial fishery vessel at a depth of between 11.0 and 14.3 m -unusually deep for this species. Without more information, it is unclear whether the population in Germany is more widespread or isolated to this particular estuary.…”

“…Given the distance between these two US Atlantic populations, this may suggest multiple introduction events from different source populations-a common occurrence among non-native species introduced via ballast water from shipping (e.g., Blakeslee et al 2017). The Weser estuary is located near the border with the Netherlands and serves as an important commercial shipping hub, which led Thiel et al (2012) to speculate that G. bosc was introduced via ballast water. An additional introduction has previously been reported from the Orinico Delta in Venezuela (Lasso-Alcala et al 2005), which is also a major international shipping destination.…”