Benthophilus mahmudbejovi Ragimov, 1976

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 : 168

15. Benthophilus mahmudbejovi Ragimov, 1976 , Mahmudbejov’s Tadpole Goby

Benthophilus mahmudbejovi Ragimov, 1976: 1196 ; type locality: off Cape Peschanyy , Middle Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan, depth 40 m; holotype: ZISP 53655 [ex IZAB 027 ], paratypes: ZISP 53656 [ex IZAB 012 ] (20).

Etymology: Named for A. A. Mahmudbejov, a leading ichthyologist of Azerbaijan.

Distribution and habitat: Along coasts of all three areas of the Caspian Sea ( Fig. 11C ): Volga River region of the North Caspian Sea; eastern coast of the Middle and South Caspian Sea from Peschanyy Cape south to Cheleken Peninsula and Ogurchinskiy Island, Turkmenistan. The report on its distribution in the coastal waters of Gilan ( Iran) by Abbasi (2017) refers to the recently described B. persicus . No records from Iran. At depths 3–15 m in the North Caspian Sea, and down to 50 m in the Middle and South Caspian Sea regions, abundant in the Volga River delta. Both fresh and brackish waters, up to 13 ‰. Prefers shallow waters, spawns in waters 1–11 m deep ( Boldyrev & Bogutskaya 2007).

IUCN: LC ( Freyhof & Kottelat 2008f).

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.