Gobius auratus Risso, 1810
Golden goby
Gobius auratus
photo by Patzner, R.

Family:  Gobiidae (Gobies), subfamily: Gobiinae
Max. size:  10 cm TL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  demersal; marine; depth range 5 - 80 m
Distribution:  Eastern Atlantic: northern Spain to Madeira and the Canary Islands; also in the Mediterranean.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 7-7; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14-14; Anal spines: 1-1; Anal soft rays: 13-13. Distinguished by having the following characteristics: Reduced suckers (Ref. 92840).
Biology:  Occurs in deeper inshore waters; over rocky substrates with algae and gorgonians (Ref. 4696). Abundant populations on coasts with steep bedrock. A shy species and difficult to collect due to long flight distances and hiding in deep clefts (Ref. 87880). Macrobenthos feeder on hard substrates ingest also shelled organisms like molluscs and echinoderms (Ref. 92840).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 11 March 2014 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


Source and more info: www.fishbase.org. For personal, classroom, and other internal use only. Not for publication.