Fishes in Lagoons and Estuaries in the Mediterranean 2 extensively covers the systematic, biological, ecological, behavioral and genetic aspects of the sedentary fishes that spend their entire lifecycle in the coastal fringes, sometimes referred to as “extreme environments”. This second volume of a set of books on Mediterranean ichthyofauna presents in-depth scientific, historical and current knowledge at the family, genus and species levels.

Designed to give rapid and comprehensive access to the body of knowledge on Mediterranean lagoonal and estuarine sedentary fishes (over 1200 scientific works are referenced), this volume is for anyone involved in the use, management or protection of natural environments and their populations, including ecobiologists, geographers, engineers, teachers, students and researchers.

Mohamed Hichem Kara (Sc.D.) is Professor at the University of Annaba, Algeria, where he manages the marine bioresource laboratory, founded in 2003. He is a founding member of the Algerian Academy of Science and Technology, and a member of the French Ichthyological Society.

Jean-Pierre Quignard (Sc.D.) is Honorary Professor at the University of Montpellier, France, where he manages the Mediterranean ichthyological laboratory. He is a member of the Montpellier Académie des sciences et lettres and of the French Ichthyological Society.

Foreword ix

Preface xi

Introduction xiii

Chapter 1. Atherinidae Risso, 1827 1

1.1. Atherina Linnæus, 1758 2

1.1.1. Atherina (Hepsetia) lagunae Trabelsi et al., 2002 3

1.2. References 33

Chapter 2. Blenniidae Rafinesque, 1815 49

2.1. Salaria Forsskäl, 1775 50

2.1.1. Salaria pavo (Risso, 1810) 51

2.2. References 68

Chapter 3. Cyprinodontidae Berg, 1940 75

3.1. Aphanius Nardo, 1827 76

3.1.1. Aphanius dispar (Rüppell, 1829) 78

3.1.2. Aphanius fasciatus (Valenciennes, 1821) 82

3.1.3. Aphanius iberus (Valenciennes, 1846) 100

3.2. References 109

Chapter 4. Gasterosteidae Günther, 1869 125

4.1. Gasterosteus [Artedi] Linnæus, 1758 126

4.1.1. Gasterosteus aculeatus Linnæus, 1758 126

4.2. References 144

Chapter 5. Gobiidae Regan, 1911 153

5.1. Gobius [Artedi] Linnæus, 1758 154

5.1.1. Gobius cobitis Pallas, 1814 156

5.1.2. Gobius niger Linnæus, 1758 163

5.1.3. Gobius paganellus Linnæus, 1758 179

5.2. Knipowitschia Iljin, 1927 186

5.2.1. Knipowitschia panizzae (Verga, 1841) 187

5.3. Pomatoschistus Gill, 1864 193

5.3.1. Pomatoschistus canestrinii (Ninni, 1883) 194

5.3.2. Pomatoschistus marmoratus (Risso, 1810) 202

5.3.3. Pomatoschistus microps (Kroyer, 1838) 213

5.3.4. Pomatoschistus tortonesei (Miller, 1968) 225

5.4. Zosterisessor (Whitley, 1935) 228

5.4.1. Zosterisessor ophiocephalus (Pallas, 1814) 230

5.5. References 248

Chapter 6. Labridae Jordan and Evermann, 1898 275

6.1. Symphodus Rafinesque, 1810 276

6.1.1. Symphodus (Crenilabrus) cinereus (Bonnaterre, 1788) 277

6.2. References 288

Chapter 7. Poeciliidae Berg, 1910 293

7.1. Gambusia Poey, 1855 293

7.1.1. Gambusia holbrooki Girard, 1859 294

7.2. References 303

Chapter 8. Syngnathidae Günther, 1870 309

8.1. Hippocampus Rafinesque, 1810 312

8.1.1. Hippocampus guttulatus Cuvier, 1829 314

8.1.2. Hippocampus hippocampus (Linnæus, 1758) 323

8.2. Nerophis Rafinesque, 1810 327

8.2.1. Nerophis ophidion (Linnæus, 1758) 328

8.3. Syngnathus [Artedi] Linnæus, 1758 334

8.3.1. Syngnathus abaster Risso, 1826 336

8.3.2. Syngnathus acus Linnæus, 1758 351

8.3.3. Syngnathus taenionotus Canestrini, 1871 357

8.3.4. Syngnathus tenuirostris Rathke, 1837 362

8.3.5. Syngnathus typhle Linnæus, 1758 364

8.4. References 374

Glossary 381

Index of Names 389

Index of Countries 393