Natural England - Couch's goby

Couch's goby

Gobius couchi

Couch's goby © Lin Baldock

The small, rare Couch’s goby grows up to 9 cm long. It is found on the lower shore and in shallow water, under stones or seaweed on sheltered, muddy sand, where it feeds on seaweed, shrimp-like animals, bivalves and worms.

Females also use the undersides of rocks or shells as a surface on which to attach their eggs. These are then protected by the male until the larvae hatch.

Couch’s gobies can be confused with black gobies, although the former are much smaller. They have short, flattened tails and the stiff, supporting top-rays of its pectoral (side) fins are separate, rather than webbed.
Couch's goby is very rare and is a protected species. We think it is only found in south Cornwall and Ireland.

Brief description of European distribution

Distribution map: (314kb)

This species has only been recorded from four locations in the British Isles: Helford in south Cornwall; Bill of Portland, Dorset; Lough Hyne, Co. Cork, Ireland; and Mulroy Bay, Co. Donegal, Ireland. Little is known about its European distribution, although there have been isolated records from the western Mediterranean and, more recently, in the Adriatic Sea suggesting that its distribution may be wider.