Benthophilus stellatus (Sauvage, 1874)
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 stellate tadpole-goby (Benthophilus stellatus) is a species of gobiid fish native to the basin of the Sea of Azov where it occurs in the Gulf of Taganrog and limans of the eastern coast. It also lives in the lower Don River up to the Tsimlyansk Reservoir. It occurs in fresh and brackish waters of depths greater than 3 metres (9.8 ft), preferring shallow coastal lagoons and lowland rivers. Males can reach a length of 13.5 centimetres (5.3 in) TL while females only reach 11 centimetres (4.3 in) TL. Now the stellate tadpole-goby regularly found in the reservoirs of the Lower and Middle Volga, the lower reaches of the Kama River, the undammed section of the Volga, and its delta.
The Caspian stellate tadpole-goby (Benthophilus leobergius) has been considered a subspecies of this species.
Wikipedia contributors, 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 stellatus (Sauvage, 1874)
- Name authority
- (Sauvage, 1874)
- 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 stellatus (Sauvage, 1874)
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 leobergius Berg, 1949 | 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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Benthophilus macrocephalus maeotica Kuznetsov, 1888 Kuznetsov, 1888 | synonym |
| Benthophilus monstrosus Kuznetsov, 1888 Kuznetsov, 1888 | synonym |
| Doliichthys stellatus Sauvage, 1874 Sauvage, 1874 | synonym |
| Dolichthys stellatus Sauvage, 1874 Sauvage, 1874 | synonym |
| Bentophilus stellatus (Sauvage, 1874) (Sauvage, 1874) | 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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=126870 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:LHZ3. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.