Geographic Range |
North east Atlantic, Mediterranean Sea, Black
Sea, Azov Sea. |
Physical Characteristics |
it is characterized by a squat body, swollen
cheeks and big lips. It has not swimming-bladder, thus it can not do long
moving and lives on the bottom, to which it sticks by the pelvic fin. The
eyes are shifted to the top of the head, to allow a complete vision, even
if it is covered with sand. |
Behaviour |
male looks after the eggs: it oxygenates
them with its fins, defends from predators, and it cleans them with a germicidal
mucus. |
Habitat |
it lives in brackish environment, estuary
and lagoons, on the muddy bottoms or in phanerogames prairies. |
Food habits |
it feeds onworms, benthic crustaceans, amphipods. |
Nidification |
male builds the nest digging the den under gravels. |
Reproduction |
female goes in the den and lays the eggs sticking
them to the stones that constitute the vault of the deg. Hatching happens
5-6 days after fertilization. |