Ponticola ratan (Nordmann, 1840)
Ratan goby
Caspian ratan goby,  Kaspiiskii rotan,  ротан каспийский,  Byckok-rotan,  Ratan goby
Ponticola ratan
photo by Miller, P.J.

Family:  Gobiidae (Gobies), subfamily: Gobiinae
Max. size:  20 cm TL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  demersal; brackish
Distribution:  Eurasia: Black Sea, Sea of Azov and Caspian Sea (4696). Restricted to brackish water habitats (Ref. 92840).
Diagnosis:   
Biology:  Restricted to brackish water habitats (Ref. 92840). Reported to enter fresh waters (Ref. 58342). Occur inshore, over stones and gravel. Feeds mainly on crustaceans and fish (Ref. 4696).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 04 March 2020 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless
Country info:  Occurs in the Kerch Strait, along the western coast of the Sea of Azov, in the Gulf of Novorossiisk, and along the Dagestan coasts in the Caspian Sea, inhabiting river mouths and sea regions with low salinity (Ref. 26334); Caspian sea at Makhachkala [Petrovsk] (holotype of Gobius bogdanowi) (Ref. 56787). Also Ref. 2058.


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