A New Species of the Gobiidae Family in Transylvania Waters: Racer Goby (Babka gymnotrachelus, Kessler 1857)

Abstract

The racer goby (Babka gymnotrachelus) is one of the well represented Ponto-Caspian goby species in most Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve lakes and channels, including Razim-Sinoe lagoon complex and lower sector of the Danube. Also, the presence of this species is noted in some lakes near Bucharest. The presence of this species in Transylvania has not been reported until now, when our team, while conducting ichthyologic investigations, captured seven specimens from Someș River and some of its tributaries, as follows: one specimen was caught in a channel adjacent to Țaga Mare Lake, one specimen was caught in Someşul Mare River (Mica village, Cluj County), two specimens were captured from the confluence of the Someşul Mic River and Fizeș River. Another two specimens were captured from Fizeş River (Fizeşu Gherlii village, Cluj County) and the last one was also caught from the Fizeş River (Sântioana village, Cluj County). It is possible that the species migrated in Someş Catchment from the Hungarian Danube sector, by the tributaries of Tisa River, or it might have originated from stocking material used in fish farms in Transylvania.The somatic, gravimetric and meristic measurements of the collected specimens were taken in the Acquaculture and Acquatic Organisms Phisyology laboratories from the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca and correspond with those mentioned in the published literature regarding this species.