Fauna of Gobies (gobiiformes: Gobiidae) of the River Basins of the North-Western Coast of the Black Sea and Adjacent Territories

The paper presents actual data on composition and structure of the fam. Gobiidae, considers the distribution of gobies in the Danube, Dniester, South Bug and Dnieper rivers. The species and taxonomic richness and diversity of gobies changes from the minimum values in the upper streams and tributaries to the maximum in the lower sections and estuaries. The fauna of gobies of the north-western Black Sea coast comprise 23 species. Of these 20 species of 12 genera were found in the four main river basins. Only 12 species can be attributed to the freshwater fauna. Tthe gobies' species number decreases in a series: Dniester (n = 14), Danube (n = 13), Dnieper (n = 12), South Bug (n = 8). Five species − B. gymnotrachelus, N. fluviatilis, N. melanostomus, P. kessleri, P. semilunaris were common for all four river basins and are widespread in the studied area.