The comparative craniological analysis of the short-barb Crimean gudgeon from the Chernaya River (south-western Crimea) and G. gobio from the Volga River basin, as well as the study of morphological cahracters used for identification of G. gobio carpathicus natio krymensis by B e r g (1949) and G. gobio kovatschevi by B ă n ă r e s c u et al. (1999) resulted in conclusion about the specific status of G. krymensis. Several craniological characters, namely the relative lengths of supracleithra and cleithra, preopercle width and the modal numbers of pores in several bones, are presumed to be available characters for its identification, as well as barbel length.