The tadpole-gobies[1] (Benthophilus), also called pugolovkas (which means "tadpole" in
Russian), are a
genus of
Ponto-Caspian fishes in the family
Gobiidae.
They are distributed in the
fresh and
brackish waters of basins of the
Black Sea,
Caspian Sea and the
Sea of Azov, 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.[1]
Tadpole-gobies are small fish, never larger than 15 cm, and usually smaller. Their life span is about one year. After spawning they die.[1]
Species
There are currently 20 recognized species in this genus:[2][1]
^
abcdBoldyrev V.S., Bogutskaya N.G. (2007) Revision of the tadpole-gobies of the genus Benthophilus (Teleostei:
Gobiidae). Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters, 18(1): 31-96.
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