Benthophilus leobergius Berg, 1949

Zarei, Fatah, Esmaeili, Hamid Reza, Abbasi, Keyvan, Kovačić, Marcelo, Schliewen, Ulrich K. & Stepien, Carol A., 2022, Gobies (Teleostei: Gobiidae) of the oldest and deepest Caspian Sea sub-basin: an evidence-based annotated checklist and a key for species identification, Zootaxa 5190 (2), pp. 151-193 : 167

11. Benthophilus leobergius Berg, 1949 ( Fig. 12 ), Caspian Stellate Tadpole Goby

Benthophilus stellatus leobergius Berg, 1949: 1116 , figs. 858–859; type locality: seemingly Astrabadskiy [Astrabad = Gorgan] Bay, Caspian Sea, Iran; lectotype: ZISP 23128, syntypes: ZISP 10891 (1).

Etymology: Named for L. S. Berg (Leo Berg), the leading Russian ichthyologist of the 20th century.

Distribution and habitat: Coastal areas of all three areas of the Caspian Sea, also enters river deltas ( Fig. 11B ). Not reported from the eastern Middle Caspian Sea, but recorded form the Ogurchinskiy Island, Turkmenistan. Spawns and feeds at depths 0.5–10 m, migrating to deeper waters in the winter. Common at depths to 20–25 m ( Ragimov 1965), rarely to 64 m. Prefers slightly brackish waters, up to 13 ‰, and also occurring in freshwaters of the Volga River Delta ( Boldyrev & Bogutskaya 2007).

Material examined: ZM-CBSU S007, 5 , & ZM-CBSU S037, 5 , off Anzali; ZM-CBSU S027, 1 , & ZM-CBSU S075, 1 , Shafaroud mouth, Gilan Province, Iran .

IUCN: LC ( Freyhof & Kottelat 2008d).

Figures

FIGURE 11. Distribution of (A) Benthophilus granulosus, Benthophilus leptorhynchus, Benthophilus grimmi and Benthophilus svetovidovi, (B) Benthophilus leobergius, Benthophilus microcephalus and Benthophilus kessleri and (C) Benthophilus mahmudbejovi, Benthophilus ragimovi and Benthophilus spinosus.

FIGURE 12. Benthophilus leobergius. ZM-CBSU S037-1, 64.2 mm SL, off Anzali, Gilan Province, Iran.