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Giant goby

Giant goby by Paul Naylor

Giant goby

One of the UK’s rarest marine species, this giant of the rocky shore is a very special fish.

Enw gwyddonol

Gobius cobitis

Pryd i'w gweld

April to October

Species information

Category

Ystadegau

Up to 27cm long

Statws cadwraethol

Rare

Habitats

Ynghylch

Britain’s largest goby, this giant of the rocky shore spends most of its time hiding in crevices and very little is known about their behaviour. It is thought that females can lay up to 12,000 eggs in small crevice ‘nests’, which males will then guard attentively. Giant gobies can change colour depending on mood and surroundings.

Sut i'w hadnabod

Giant gobies are very large fish to find on the shore and have a large head and chunky body. Characteristically they are salt and pepper speckled colouration with small and well spaced eyes. Dark blotches appear along the mid-line of the body.

Dosbarthiad

South West England only, from Wembury in Devon to the Isles of Scilly. Also found in the Eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Sea.

Roeddech chi yn gwybod?

The giant goby is protected under the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981, making it a criminal offence to disturb individuals or damage their rockpool homes!