Common goby

Pomatoschistus microps

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth2–50 m
Water temperature9–29 °C
Best monthsSeptember
How commonCommon

About this species

The common goby is a species of ray-finned fish native to fresh and brackish waters along the Atlantic and Baltic Sea coasts of Europe and northern Africa, with a range stretching from Norway to Morocco and Mauritania. It is also found in the Canary Islands. This species reaches a maximum length of 9 centimetres (3.5 in) TL.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Common goby”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 81 records
February: 41 records
March: 63 records
April: 381 records
May: 168 records
June: 98 records
July: 123 records
August: 111 records
September: 1,320 records
October: 254 records
November: 92 records
December: 77 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 2–50 m · Deepest record: 269 m

0–10 m: 452 records
10–20 m: 228 records
20–30 m: 49 records
30–40 m: 18 records
40–50 m: 34 records
50–60 m: 37 records
60–70 m: 20 records
70–80 m: 9 records
80–90 m: 9 records
90–100 m: 5 records
100–110 m: 2 records
110+ m: 17 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 9–29 °C

8–10 °C: 12 records
10–12 °C: 495 records
12–14 °C: 206 records
14–16 °C: 2 records
16–18 °C: 26 records
18–20 °C: 14 records
20–22 °C: 4 records
22–24 °C: 0 records
24–26 °C: 4 records
26–28 °C: 9 records
28–30 °C: 1 records

Names and classification

English: Common goby, common goby, Common Goby

Names in 3 more languages

German: Strandgrundel, Strandküling
Spanish: Gambuxino, Gobio Común, Gobito
French: bourgette, buhode, gobie buhotte, Gobie Commun, gobie tacheté, Gobie tacheté, Mougnette, petit gobie de sable

Other scientific names: Gobius laticeps, Gobius microps, Gobius parnelli, Gobius pusillus

Similar species

Black-chest Shrimp-goby
Amblyeleotris guttata
Steinitz' goby
Amblyeleotris steinitzi
Barred Shrimpgoby
Amblyeleotris wheeleri
Banded Goby
Amblygobius phalaena
Bluespotted Goby
Asterropteryx semipunctata
Brownlined Goby
Bathygobius coalitus

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
21,938 open-data records from 1906 to 2024.

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