20. Benthophilus svetovidovi Pinchuk & Ragimov, 1979, Svetovidov’s Tadpole Goby

Benthophilus svetovidovi Pinchuk & Ragimov, 1979: 515; type locality: South Caspian Sea (?), depth 86 m; holotype: ZIN 43672, female, 39 mm TL, paratypes: ZIN 43673 (1, lost).

Etymology: Named after A. N. Svetovidov, Russian ichthyologist.

Distribution and habitat: Known from along the eastern coast of Middle Caspian Sea and from off Ogurchinskiy Island (ZISP) in the northeastern South Caspian Sea (Fig. 11A). No records from Iran. Recorded from 30–200 m depths at 12–13.5 ‰ salinity (Boldyrev & Bogutskaya 2007).

IUCN: DD (Bogutskaya 2020j).