Ponticola iranicus Vasil'eva, Mousavi-Sabet & Vasil'ev, 2015
Iranian Goby
Ponticola iranicus
photo by Mousavi-Sabet, H.

Family:  Gobiidae (Gobies), subfamily: Gobiinae
Max. size:  14 cm TL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  benthopelagic; freshwater
Distribution:  Eurasia: Caspian Sea: rivers at the southwestern part; upper Sefid-Rud River and Gisum rivers, as well as rivers of the Anzeli Lagoon drainage (Massuleh, Pasikhan).
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 7-7; Anal spines: 1-1. This species is distinguished by the following characters: D1 VI, D2 I,(14½)15½-17½, A I,10½-3½; nape completely scaled, cycloid; cycloid scales covering upper part of opercle; lateral line system with sub-orbital row d continuous; predorsal area uniformly dark grey; D1 with oblique black stripe between first two or three rays; upper part of pectoral fin base with a short dark grey strip; karyotype consists of 46 acrocentric chromosomes
Biology:  Occurs on bottoms covered with stones and boulders and with rapid currents (Ref. 104815).
IUCN Red List Status: Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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