32. Ponticola gorlap (Iljin, 1949) (Fig. 29), Caspian Bighead Goby

Neogobius kessleri gorlap Iljin in Berg, 1949: 1087; type locality: Caspian Sea and tributary rivers; types: no type material exists. The original description by Berg (1949) was based on information supplied by B. S. Iljin in a 1941 manuscript which is now lost.

Etymology: The species name gorlap likely is derived from a local term.

Distribution and habitat: Present in all three areas of the Caspian Sea and entering various freshwaters of the Caspian drainage. A bottom-living euryhaline fish found in brackish inshore habitats (usually from 0.5–10 m in depth, and rarely 10–20 m) and a wide range of freshwater habitats in the Caspian Sea (Vasil’eva & Vasil’ev 2003b; Zarei et al. 2021) (Fig. 27B).

Material examined: ZM-CBSU S040 & ZM-CBSU S076, 2, off Anzali; ZM-CBSU S042 & ZM-CBSU S096, 60, Siahdarvishan River; ZM-CBSU S045, 9, Shafaroud mouth; ZM-CBSU S050, 4, Oshmakroud mouth; ZM-CBSU S060, 53, Sefidroud mouth; ZM-CBSU S060.3, 5, Sefidroud at Keysum; ZM-CBSU S077, 1, off Kiashahr; ZM-CBSU S078, 2, Anzali Wetland; ZM-CBSU S082, 1, off Astara; ZM-CBSU S093, 30, Sefidroud at Imamzadehashem; ZM-CBSU S094 & ZM-CBSU S095, 150, Chalvand River; ZM-CBSU S097, Sefidroud at Koucheasfahan, Gilan Province, Iran; ZM-CBSU S041, 64, Babolroud; ZM-CBSU S065 -S067, 6, Neka; ZM-CBSU S098, 60, Neka River (Nekaroud), Mazandaran Province, Iran .

IUCN: LC (Freyhof & Kottelat 2008k).