Some Species of Gobies of the Genus <i>Pomatoschistus</i> Previously Unknown in the Black Sea as Identified by the Data on the 16S rRNA Mitochondrial DNA Gene Variability

Abstract

Using the analysis of the 16S rRNA of mtDNA nucleotide sequences, the taxonomic composition of gobies of the genus Pomatoschistus of the Black Sea was refined. Among the 12 individuals of the genus Pomatoschistus studied in the Black Sea (Odessa Bay and Kazachiya Harbour, Sevastopol), the species P. marmoratus and P. quagga are reliably identified by haplotypes of the 16S gene. When comparing the parameters of the genetic variation of the most abundant species P. marmoratus from the Black Sea with populations of the Mediterranean Sea, it was found that the Black Sea population of P. marmoratus has all the features of a marginal population, which is probably due to the relatively recent naturalization of this species in the Black Sea. The species P. quagga is for the first time indicated for the Black Sea.