rock goby
Gobius paganellus Linnaeus, 1758
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

Gobius paganellus photographed in Tuscany (Italy). Photo by Stefano Guerrieri.
Etrusko25 · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The rock goby (Gobius paganellus) is a small coastal goby of eastern Atlantic waters, from Scotland to Senegal. It is also reported from the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and is an anti-Lessepsian migrant in the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea. There are unconfirmed records from the area around Pointe Noire in Congo-Brazzaville.
Wikipedia contributors, Rock goby; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:47:17.897074+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Gobius paganellus Linnaeus, 1758
- Name authority
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Common name
- rock goby
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Gobiiformes
- Family
- Gobiidae
- Genus
- Gobius
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderGobiiformes
- familyGobiidae Cuvier, 1816
- subfamilyGobiinae Cuvier, 1816
- genusGobius Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesGobius paganellus Linnaeus, 1758
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Gobius. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Gobius ater Bellotti, 1888 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gobius bucchichi Steindachner, 1870 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| red-mouthed gobyGobius cruentatus Gmelin, 1789 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gobius geniporus Valenciennes, 1837 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gobius incognitus Kovačić & Šanda, 2016 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gobius kolombatovici Kovačić & Miller, 2000 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gobius rubropunctatus Delais, 1951 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gobius scorteccii Poll, 1961 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gobius senegambiensis Metzelaar, 1919 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gobius strictus Fage, 1907 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gobius tetrophthalmus Brito & Miller, 2001 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gobius vittatus Vinciguerra, 1883 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Gobius bicolor Gmelin, 1789 Gmelin, 1789 | synonym |
| Gobius capito Valenciennes, 1837 Valenciennes, 1837 | synonym |
| Bathygobius paganellus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Linnaeus, 1758) | synonym |
| Gobius albosignatus Kessler, 1874 Kessler, 1874 | synonym |
| Gobius capitonellus Kessler, 1874 Kessler, 1874 | synonym |
| Gobius punctipinnis Canestrini, 1862 Canestrini, 1862 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii. Holmiae [Stockholm]. [iii] + 824 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.542 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3GQ39. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.