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Issue: Vol. 5757 No. 5: 10 Feb. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-02-10
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5757.5.1
Page range: 401-437
Abstract views: 47
PDF downloaded: 1

Checklist and identification key for clingfishes (Actinopterygii: Gobiesocidae) from the Mediterranean Sea

Natural History Museum Rijeka; Lorenzov prolaz 1; HR-51000 Rijeka; Croatia.
Department of Biological; Geological; and Environmental Sciences; University of Catania; 95124 Catania; Italy.; Ente Fauna Marina Mediterranea; Scientific Organization for Research and Conservation of Marine Biodiversity; 96012 Avola; Italy; National Research Council (CNR); Institute for Biological Resources and Marine Biotechnologies; 98122 Messina; Italy
Faculty of Civil Engineering; University of Rijeka; HR-51000 Rijeka; Croatia.; Department of Biology; University of Antwerp; Antwerp; Belgium
Pisces cryptobenthic fishes inventory diversity identification protocol taxonomy

Abstract

We provide a comprehensive checklist and identification key of the 13 known species of clingfishes (Actinopterygii: Gobiesocidae) occurring in the Mediterranean Sea, including five species described within the last decade. The species included in this checklist are confirmed based on rigorous evidence-based records. To date, all clingfishes in the Mediterranean are native and no alien species have been recorded.

 

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How to Cite

Kovačić, M., Tiralongo, F. & Wagner, M. (2026) Checklist and identification key for clingfishes (Actinopterygii: Gobiesocidae) from the Mediterranean Sea. Zootaxa, 5757 (5), 401–437. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5757.5.1