35. Ponticola patimari Eagderi, Nikmehr & Poorbagher, 2020 (Fig. 32), Patimar’s Goby

Ponticola patimari Eagderi, Nikmehr & Poorbagher, 2020: 25, figs. 2–4; type locality: Kheirud River at Najar-deh Village, Southern Caspian Sea basin, Mazandaran Prov., Iran, 36°36’46’’N; 51°34’03’’E; holotype: IMNRF-UT-1088, male, 79.1 mm TL, 63.5 mm SL, paratypes: IMNRF-UT-1087 (8), additional materials: IMNRF-UT-1086 (8), IMNRF-UT-1089 (11).

Etymology: Named for Dr. R. Patimar, Iranian fishery biologist.

Distribution and habitat: Freshwaters in the South Caspian Sea sub-basin. Endemic to the western rivers of the South Caspian Sea sub-basin in Iran from Kheirud (Mazandaran) to Karganroud (Gilan), except for the upper Sefidroud drainage basin (Fig. 27A) (Zarei et al. 2022b).

Remarks: A species with three geographically constrained haplogroups, i.e., Hg1, Hg2, and Hg3, separated from one another by1.19–1.91% average Kimura two-parameter (K2P) genetic distance(Zarei et al. 2022b).Hg1 contained the specimens from eastern localities, including the type locality of P. patimari, whereas Hg2 and Hg3 appeared to be sister groups with central and western-central distributions, respectively. Hg1 and Hg2+Hg3 appeared to follow a morphological continuum, which did not allow for practical taxonomic diagnosis. Therefore, pending further investigation, Zarei et al. (2022b) considered the latter two groups as possible allopatric populations of P. patimari . The cephalic lateral line system of P. patimari was inaccurately described by Eagderi et al. (2020), and re-described by Zarei et al. (2022b) with re-assessed morphological character states.

Material examined: ZM-CBSU S043, 3, Kaftarroud; ZM-CBSU S044,1 1, Karganroud; ZM-CBSU S046 & ZM-CBSU S090, 70, Shafaroud; ZM-CBSU S051, 6, Oshmakroud mouth ; ZM-CBSU S061, 8, Sefidroud at Keysum ; ZM-CBSU S080, 90, Siahdarvishan; ZM-CBSU S088, 5, Kheiroud; ZM-CBSU S091, 60, Polroud, Gilan Province, Iran ; ZM-CBSU S089, 60, Nowshahr and Chalus rivers, Mazandaran Province, Iran .

IUCN: NE.