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Gobiiformes (Gobies) >
Gobiidae (Gobies) > Gobiinae
Etymology: Benthophilus: Greek, benthos = depth of the sea + Greek, phyle, that loves (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: The binomial means ‘teacher’; the allusion is not explained by Iljin but may well refer to Nikolai Mikhailovich Knipovich (1862–1938), a Caspian Sea biologist and Iljin’s teacher whom Iljin had honoured with the new genus Knipowitschia in the same [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; brackish; demersal. Temperate; 47°N - 36°N, 36°E - 54°E
Europe: Sea of Azov.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 8.4 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2058)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
This species is distinguished from its congeners by the following characters: head tubercles and granules of almost equal size; tubercle on dorsal midline of head behind eye absent; numerous, densely set granules, covering whole body except abdominal are; tubercles in dorsal row 28-30, ventral row 23-25, upper and lower lateral rows more than 20, size small, especially in caudal area, while for the dorsal row, increasing from head to base of dorsal; branched rays in D2 9-11.5, A 8-10.5; body without dark blotches (Ref. 59043).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated.
Stays in the biocoenosis of the estuarine silts (Ref. 2058). Occurs in fresh and slightly brackish waters with salinity below 11 ppt , usually over mud bottom. It lives about a year. Females probably lay eggs in 2-3 portions within or under a molluscs shell and the adults die soon after spawning. Feeds mainly on molluscs, crustaceans and chironomid larvae. (Ref.59043).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Coad, B.W., 1998. Systematic biodiversity in the freshwater fishes of Iran. Ital. J. Zool. 65:101-108. (Ref. 31728)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
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