Benthophilus leobergius Berg, 1949
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Caspian stellate tadpole-goby (Benthophilus leobergius), also known as the starry goby, is a species of gobiid fish endemic to the Caspian Sea basin. It is widespread along all coasts of the Caspian Sea with exception of the central-eastern, and in the lowest part of the Volga River. In the southern part of the basin, it is mentioned near the Ogurja Ada, in the Gorgansky Bay, and in the Sefīd-Rūd River. This species can reach a length of 10 centimetres (3.9 in) SL.
The fish was named by Boris Ilyin after the ichthyologist and geographer Leo S. Berg, and properly taxonomically described by Berg himself the same year, then as a subspecies of Benthophilus stellatus (i.e. B. stellatus leobergius).
The specific name is a latinisation of Berg's name.
Wikipedia contributors, Caspian stellate tadpole-goby; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:10:25.385793+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Benthophilus leobergius Berg, 1949
- Name authority
- Berg, 1949
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Gobiiformes
- Family
- Gobiidae
- Genus
- Benthophilus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderGobiiformes
- familyGobiidae Cuvier, 1816
- subfamilyGobiinae Cuvier, 1816
- genusBenthophilus Eichwald, 1831
- speciesBenthophilus leobergius Berg, 1949
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Benthophilus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Benthophilus magistri Iljin, 1927 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Benthophilus abdurahmanovi Ragimov, 1978 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Benthophilus pinchuki Ragimov, 1982 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Benthophilus casachicus Ragimov, 1978 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Benthophilus durrelli Boldyrev & Bogutskaya, 2004 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Benthophilus leptocephalus Kessler, 1877 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Benthophilus leptorhynchus Kessler, 1877 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Benthophilus ragimovi Boldyrev & Bogutskaya, 2004 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Benthophilus spinosus Kessler, 1877 | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Benthophilus stellatus (Sauvage, 1874) | GobiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Benthophilus stellatus leobergius Berg, 1949 Berg, 1949 | synonym |
| Benthophilus leobergi Berg, 1949 Berg, 1949 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Berg, L. S. (1949). Ryby presnych vod SSSR i sopredelnych stan. [Freshwater fishes of the U.S.S.R. and adjacent countries.]. 4th. ed., vol. 3. Opredeliteli po faune SSSR. [Guide to the Fauna of the U.S.S.R.], Moskva. Freshwater fishes of the U.S.S.R. and adjacent countries No. 30: 927–1382, 1 map. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:LHYQ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.