17. Benthophilus pinchuki Ragimov, 1982 * (Fig. 14), Pinchuk’s Tadpole Goby Benthophilus ctenolepidus pinchuki Ragimov, 1982: 49; type locality: off Bely Bugor, 37°4’N, southeastern Caspian Sea, Turkmenistan, depth 30 m; holotype: ZISP 53569 [ex IZA], paratypes: IZA 304 (8), ZISP 53660 [ex IZA 304] (6), additional material: ZIN 33143 (6), 44346 (1). Etymology: Named in honor of V. I. Pinchuk, Russian ichthyologist. Distribution and habitat: South Caspian Sea (Fig. 8A). Although Boldyrev & Bogutskaya (2007) also mapped its distribution in the North Caspian Sea, no data or explanation were provided, and according to Pinchuk & Miller (2003a), this species is absent from the North Caspian Sea region. Therefore, its distribution in the present checklist is depicted in the South Caspian Sea. We collected this species from the coastal waters of Anzali and from the Shafaroud River mouth, Gilan Province. A rare deep-water goby from depths down to 282–294 m, usually 50–100 m, in salinities of 12.4–13.2 ‰ (Boldyrev & Bogutskaya 2007). Material examined: ZM-CBSU S004, 1, & ZM-CBSU S005, 2, off Anzali; ZM-CBSU S028, 5, Shafaroud River mouth, Gilan Province, Iran. IUCN: DD (Bogutskaya 2020h).

Published as part of 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, pp. 151-193 in Zootaxa 5190 (2) on page 169, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5190.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/7120060