7. Benthophilus ctenolepidus Kessler, 1877, Spiny-scaled Tadpole Goby

Benthophilus ctenolepidus Kessler, 1877: 48, fig. 11; type locality: southern Caspian Sea, south of Baku, Azerbaijan; lectotype: ZIN 10897, paralectotypes: (4) BMNH 1897.7.5.13 [ex ZIN] (1), ZIN (lost).

Etymology: Greek, ctenos = comb + Greek, lepis = scale, refers to the arrangement of spines edging the bony tubercles in the skin.

Distribution and habitat: South Caspian Sea (Fig. 8C): southeastern part, Gorgan Bay and off Zelenyy Bugor and Belyy Bugor (Turkmenistan), and along the western coast from the Apsheron Peninsula south to the Astara region of Azerbaijan (Boldyrev & Bogutskaya 2007). Abbasi (2017) listed it in the coastal waters of Gilan, and maps in Pinchuk & Miller (2004c), and Boldyrev & Bogutskaya (2007) show it along the Iranian coast. Occurring in salinities up to 12.4–13.0 ‰. Eurybathic, spawns and forages in warm seasons at depths from 0.5–10 m, migrating in winter to depths of 20–60 m (Boldyrev & Bogutskaya 2007).

IUCN: LC (Bogutskaya 2020c).