Tadpole goby
The tadpole-gobies, also called pugolovkas, are a genus of Ponto-Caspian fishes in the family Gobiidae.
They are distributed in the fresh and brackish waters of basins of the Black Sea, Caspian Sea and the Sea of Azov, up to salinities of about 20 ‰. They typically live in habitats such as the deep waters of the Caspian and in the deltas, estuaries and coastal waters of the Ponto-Caspian.
Tadpole-gobies are small fish, never larger than 15 cm, and usually smaller. Their life span is about one year. After spawning they die.Species
There are currently 20 recognized species in this genus:
- Benthophilus abdurahmanovi Ragimov, 1978
- Benthophilus baeri Kessler, 1877
- Benthophilus casachicus Ragimov, 1978
- Benthophilus ctenolepidus Kessler, 1877
- Benthophilus durrelli Boldyrev & Bogutskaya, 2004
- Benthophilus granulosus Kessler, 1877
- Benthophilus grimmi Kessler, 1877
- Benthophilus kessleri L. S. Berg, 1927
- Benthophilus leobergius L. S. Berg, 1949
- Benthophilus leptocephalus Kessler, 1877
- Benthophilus leptorhynchus Kessler, 1877
- Benthophilus macrocephalus
- Benthophilus magistri Iljin, 1927
- Benthophilus mahmudbejovi Ragimov, 1976
- Benthophilus nudus L. S. Berg, 1898
- Benthophilus pinchuki Ragimov, 1982
- Benthophilus ragimovi Boldyrev & Bogutskaya, 2004
- Benthophilus spinosus Kessler, 1877
- Benthophilus stellatus
- Benthophilus svetovidovi Pinchuk & Ragimov, 1979
