The tadpole-gobies (''Benthophilus''), also called pugolovkas (which means "tadpole" in
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
), are a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
Gobiidae
Gobiidae or gobies is a family of bony fish in the order Gobiiformes, one of the largest fish families comprising more than 2,000 species in more than 200 genera. Most of gobiid fish are relatively small, typically less than in length, and the ...
brackish water
Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...
s of basins of the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
,
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...
and the
Sea of Azov
The Sea of Azov ( Crimean Tatar: ''Azaq deñizi''; russian: Азовское море, Azovskoye more; uk, Азовське море, Azovs'ke more) is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Ker ...
, up to salinities of about 20 ‰. They typically live in habitats such as the deep waters of the Caspian (salinity about 13 ‰) 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:Boldyrev V.S., Bogutskaya N.G. (2007) Revision of the tadpole-gobies of the genus ''Benthophilus'' (Teleostei:
Gobiidae
Gobiidae or gobies is a family of bony fish in the order Gobiiformes, one of the largest fish families comprising more than 2,000 species in more than 200 genera. Most of gobiid fish are relatively small, typically less than in length, and the ...
Benthophilus abdurahmanovi
Abdurahmanov's pugolovka (''Benthophilus abdurahmanovi'') is a brackishwater fish of family Gobiidae. It is found in the northern Caspian Sea and the lower reaches of the rivers Volga and Terek.Boldyrev V.S., Bogutskaya N.G. (2007) Revision of th ...
Benthophilus baeri
The Baer pugolovka (''Benthophilus baeri'') is a species of goby widespread in the southern and central Caspian Sea, to Lenkoran in south. Also near the Chechen Island
Chechen Island (russian: Остров Чечень; Ostrov Chechen') is a coas ...
''
Kessler Kessler or Keßler (in German) may refer to:
* Kessler (automobile), an American automobile made 1921–1922
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* ''Kessler'' (TV series), a British television series from 1981
* Kessler, Ohio, an unincorporat ...
, 1877 (Baer pugolovka)
* ''
Benthophilus casachicus
''Benthophilus casachicus'' is a species of goby widespread along the eastern coasts of the Caspian Sea from the Cape Pischanyi to Ogurja Ada at south, also near Astrakhan. This species prefers estuaries
An estuary is a partially enclosed co ...
Benthophilus ctenolepidus
''Benthophilus ctenolepidus'' is a species of goby widespread along the southern coasts of the Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An end ...
''
Kessler Kessler or Keßler (in German) may refer to:
* Kessler (automobile), an American automobile made 1921–1922
* Kessler (name), people named Kessler
* ''Kessler'' (TV series), a British television series from 1981
* Kessler, Ohio, an unincorporat ...
, 1877
* ''
Benthophilus durrelli
The Don tadpole-goby (''Benthophilus durrelli'') is a species of goby widespread in the basin of the Sea of Azov, specifically in the lower Don River and Tsimlyansk Reservoir. This species is found in rivers, reservoirs and river mouths, but is ...
Benthophilus granulosus
The granular pugolovka (''Benthophilus granulosus'') is a species of gobiid fish widespread in the Caspian Sea. It is a small fish, with a length up to TL. It was listed as Least Concern by the IUCN in 2008: there are no known major threats. ...
''
Kessler Kessler or Keßler (in German) may refer to:
* Kessler (automobile), an American automobile made 1921–1922
* Kessler (name), people named Kessler
* ''Kessler'' (TV series), a British television series from 1981
* Kessler, Ohio, an unincorporat ...
, 1877 (Granular pugolovka)
* ''
Benthophilus grimmi
''Benthophilus grimmi'' is a species of goby widespread in the northern Caspian Sea at depth . This species is common from Chechen Island to Absheron Peninsula. This species can reach a length of TL. The specific name honours the Russian ich ...
''
Kessler Kessler or Keßler (in German) may refer to:
* Kessler (automobile), an American automobile made 1921–1922
* Kessler (name), people named Kessler
* ''Kessler'' (TV series), a British television series from 1981
* Kessler, Ohio, an unincorporat ...
Benthophilus leobergius
The Caspian stellate tadpole-goby (''Benthophilus leobergius''), also known as the starry goby,PIRI HOSSEIN, ENAYAT G. TAYEBE (2013 STUDY ON SOME BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF STARRY GOBY (''BENTHOPHILUS STELLATUS LEOBERGIUS'' BERG 1949) IN THE S ...
Kessler Kessler or Keßler (in German) may refer to:
* Kessler (automobile), an American automobile made 1921–1922
* Kessler (name), people named Kessler
* ''Kessler'' (TV series), a British television series from 1981
* Kessler, Ohio, an unincorporat ...
, 1877
* ''
Benthophilus leptorhynchus
The short-snout pugolovka (''Benthophilus leptorhynchus'') is a deepwater species of goby widespread in the central part of the Caspian Sea at the depth of , with salinity 10–13.5‰. It is found along the western coast of the Caspian Sea from ...
''
Kessler Kessler or Keßler (in German) may refer to:
* Kessler (automobile), an American automobile made 1921–1922
* Kessler (name), people named Kessler
* ''Kessler'' (TV series), a British television series from 1981
* Kessler, Ohio, an unincorporat ...
, 1877 (Short-snout pugolovka)
* ''
Benthophilus macrocephalus
The Caspian tadpole goby (''Benthophilus macrocephalus'') is a species of goby which is widespread in the basin of the Caspian Sea, specifically in the near-estuary zone of the rivers and in small bays. It is a common species in the Volga River ...
'' (
Pallas
Pallas may refer to:
Astronomy
* 2 Pallas asteroid
** Pallas family, a group of asteroids that includes 2 Pallas
* Pallas (crater), a crater on Earth's moon
Mythology
* Pallas (Giant), a son of Uranus and Gaia, killed and flayed by Athena
* Pa ...
, 1787) (Caspian tadpole goby)
* ''
Benthophilus magistri
The Azov tadpole goby (''Benthophilus magistri'') is a species of goby native to the basin of the Sea of Azov, specifically in the near-estuary zone of the Kuban River, to west until Ukrainian part of the Taganrog Bay and the Strait of Kerch, in ...
Kessler Kessler or Keßler (in German) may refer to:
* Kessler (automobile), an American automobile made 1921–1922
* Kessler (name), people named Kessler
* ''Kessler'' (TV series), a British television series from 1981
* Kessler, Ohio, an unincorporat ...