Transparent goby

Transparent goby Temporal range:
File:2 - Aphia minuta 03-11-06 DSCF4095.jpg
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Gobiiformes
Family:	Gobiidae
Genus:	Aphia Risso, 1827
Species:	A. minuta
Binomial name
Aphia minuta (A. Risso, 1810)
Synonyms
(for the genus) Aphyogobius Whitley, 1931 Boreogobius T. N. Gill, 1863 Brachyochirus Nardo, 1844 Latrunculus Günther, 1861 (for the species) Atherina minuta A. Risso, 1810 Argentina aphia Rafinesque, 1810 (Ambiguous name) Gobius pellucidus Nardo, 1824 Aphya pellucida (Nardo, 1824) Brachyochirus pellucidus (Nardo, 1824) Aphia meridionalis A. Risso, 1827 Gobius albus Parnell, 1831–37 Gobius stuvitzii Düben, 1845 Brachyochirus aphya Bonaparte, 1846 Gobius pellucidus Kessler, 1859 (Ambiguous name)

Aphia minuta, the transparent goby, is a species of the goby native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean where it can be found from Trondheim, Norway to Morocco. It is also found in the Mediterranean, Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. It is a pelagic species, inhabiting inshore waters and estuaries. It can be found at depths of from the surface to 97 metres (318 ft), though it is usually found at 5 to 80 metres (16 to 262 ft), over sandy and muddy bottoms and also in eelgrass beds. This species can reach a length of 7.9 centimetres (3.1 in) TL. It is an important species to local commercial fisheries. It is currently the only known extant member of its genus. A fossil relative, †Aphia macrophthalma Schwarzhans et al., 2016 is known from the Middle Miocene of Serbia.

Gastronomy

This fish is appreciated in Spain as part of the Andalusian, Catalan and Valencian cuisines, and in Italy as part of the Italian cuisine. In Andalusia where they are called chanquetes, they are traditionally served deep-fried, with fried eggs and roasted or fried bell pepper. Due to their high price and to their now protected species status in Spain, they are often replaced by some species of East Asian noodlefishes, locally called chanquete chino (Chinese chanquete), Neosalanx tangkahkeii and Protosalanx. This replacement is often done openly, but sometimes it is done fraudulently.