MORPHOLOGICAL VARIABILITY AND SPECIES STRUCTURE OF TUBENOSE GOBIES OF GENUS PROTERORHINUS (GOBIIDAE) OF THE BLACK SEA, THEIR DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS, AND DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS WITHIN THE BASIN
Journal: Вопросы ихтиологии / Journal of Ichthyology
Year: 2025

On the basis of morphological studies of museum collections based on preliminary analysis of genetically identified samples, a system of species diagnostic characters and a key for identification of three Black Sea species of tubenose gobies (genus ) were developed. These species, the validity of which is confirmed by the data of molecular genetic analysis, are very similar in external morphology and are differentiated by a set of characters, the most important of which are the number of branche