BIOTIC

BIOTIC Species Information for Gobius cobitis
All Taxonomy Biology Distribution Reproduction

Researched by	Karen Riley	Data supplied by	MarLIN
Refereed by	Prof. Robert Patzner
General Biology
Growth form	Pisciform	Feeding method	Omnivore
Mobility/Movement	Swimmer	Environmental position	Demersal
Typical food types	Crustaceans, polychaetes, small fishes, insects and large amounts of green algae.	Habit	Free living
Bioturbator		Flexibility	High (>45 degrees)
Fragility	Intermediate	Size	Medium-large(21-50cm)
Height		Growth Rate	Insufficient information
Adult dispersal potential	No information found	Dependency	Independent
Sociability	Solitary
Toxic/Poisonous?	No
General Biology Additional Information	The feeding habits of Gobius cobitis vary with the size of the animal. Young fish, which measure about 8-9 cm, feed on smaller food items such as copepods, ostracods and small amphipods (Gibson, 1970). As the individual grows it will feed on larger food items until its diet consists of large amounts of green algae, Ulva spp., smaller amounts of crustaceans such as amphipods, crabs, prawns, amphipods, isopods and extremely small amounts of polychaetes and small fishes, particularly juveniles of the blenny, Blennius pholis (Potts & Swaby, 1992). Its longevity is approximately 10 years and the maximum total length reported was 23-27 cm (Potts & Swaby, 1992; Hayward et al., 1996). No difference in longevity has been noticed between sexes (Gibson, 1970).
Biology References	Potts & Swaby, 1992, Gibson, 1970, Hayward et al., 1996,