Benthophilus leobergius Berg, 1949

Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash, Ghanavi, Hamid Reza & Doadrio, Ignacio, 2020, Fig. 4 in Fig. 4 in Fig. 3 in Fig. 21. Sesarmops mora n in Paralbunea dayriti, Zoological Studies 59 (21), pp. 1-303 : 227-228

Benthophilus leobergius Berg, 1949 – Native

Benthophilus stellatus leobergius Berg [L. S.] 1949: 1116; Type locality: Astrabadskiy Bay, Caspian Sea, Iran. Lectotype: ZISP 23128. Syntypes: ZISP 10891 (1).

Benthophilus aculeatus Baer [K. E.] in Lukina 1984: 168; Type locality: Bight at Novopetrovsk, Mangyshlak, Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan. No types known.

Common name: Pr: Gavmahi-e vazaghi, En: Caspian stellate tadpole-goby.

Diagnosis: Distinguished from the other by having a long snout (30–33% HL), and upper jaw projecting beyond tip of lower jaw (vs. lower jaw projecting beyond tip of upper jaw), two large tubercles along midline between eyes (found in 80% of specimens) (vs. 0–1 tubercle), 10–11, usually 11, precaudal vertebrae (vs. usually 9). It also differs from most species of Benthophilus by large head (always wide larger than long) and small eyes (horizontal eye diameter markedly larger than interorbital distance), these characters are shared with B. macrocephalus and B. stellatus ). 3–4 neuromasts in row 7 (found also in B. cnsachicus and B. macrocephalus , vs. usually one). It can be separate by other species of the group by possessing tiny granules on upper eye surface and periorbital row of enlarged granules (except B. macrocephalus ).

Meristic characters: D 1: III–IV, D 2: I 8–10 (9), A: I 7–9 (8), P: 15–18 (17), TV: 28–31 (29–30), PF: 3–22(11*)1*01*0002, 3–22(11*)1*0000001).

Distribution: Caspian basin ( Fig. 421). Found in whole of southern Caspian Sea.

Taxonomy: Coad (1995) placed leobergius in Benthophilus stellatus as subspecies but Pinchuk et al. in Miller (2004) regard as full species.

Conservation: IUCN: Least Concern ( Freyhof and Kottelat 2008j).