Gobies (Teleostei: Gobiidae) of the oldest and deepest Caspian Sea sub-basin: an evidence-based annotated checklist and a key for species identification Author Zarei, Fatah 0000-0001-5552-4301 Ichthyology and Molecular Systematics Research Laboratory, Zoology Section, Department of Biology, College of Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran. & fataahzarei @ gmail. com; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0001 - 5552 - 4301 fataahzarei@gmail.com Author Esmaeili, Hamid Reza 0000-0002-9736-397X Ichthyology and Molecular Systematics Research Laboratory, Zoology Section, Department of Biology, College of Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran. & hresmaeili @ shirazu. ac. ir; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 9736 - 397 X hresmaeili@shirazu.ac.ir Author Abbasi, Keyvan Inland Waters Aquaculture Research Center, Iranian Fisheries Sciences Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Bandar Anzali, Iran. Author Kovačić, Marcelo Natural History Museum Rijeka, Lorenzov prolaz 1, HR- 51000 Rijeka, Croatia. Author Schliewen, Ulrich K. 0000-0003-0187-4319 SNSB-Bavarian State Collection of Zoology, Department of Ichthyology, Münchhausenstr. 21, 81247 München, Germany. schliewen @ snsb. de; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0003 - 0187 - 4319 schliewen@snsb.de Author Stepien, Carol A. 0000-0002-5544-4333 National Museum of Natural History, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D. C, USA. StepienCA @ si. edu; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0002 - 5544 - 4333 text Zootaxa 2022 2022-09-28 5190 2 151 193 journal article 153839 10.11646/zootaxa.5190.2.1 60faa853-726d-4b71-a3cb-c21a0087515f 1175-5326 7120060 92BFDA7A-28C0-4816-8A91-CFB842C95E96 29. Neogobius pallasi (Berg, 1916) ( Fig. 25 ), Caspian Sand Goby Gobius fluviatilis pallasi Berg, 1916: 417 ; type locality: Caspian Sea, mouths of Ural and Volga; syntypes : ZISP 2195, 2204, 23137, 30729, 30736, 30738, 30919, 30920, 30924-26, 33182, 34276 & 34277. Etymology: Named after P. S. Pallas, Prussian zoologist and botanist. Distribution and habitat: Caspian Sea coastal waters and river mouths ( Fig. 22D ). Present in all three areas of the Caspian Sea and entering various river mouths of the Caspian Sea drainage. In the South Caspian Sea present only in the northwestern part, according to Pinchuk et al . (2003c) . However, distributions based on the present material extends its South Caspian Sea range to the east at Miankaleh. Remarks: Gobius fluviatilis Pallas, 1814 was originally described in part from near the mouths of rivers falling into the Black Sea and similarly the Caspian Sea. Neogobius fluviatilis pallasi (Berg, 1916) was the subspecies described in the Caspian Sea basin. Kottelat & Freyhof (2007) recognized N. pallasi as the Caspian Sea species and restricted N. fluviatilis to the Black Sea basin. This taxonomic decision was later confirmed by molecular data ( Neilson & Stepien 2011 ). Material examined: ZM-CBSU S049, 10 , & ZM-CBSU S048, 35, Shalmanroud mouth ; ZM-CBSU S032, 78, off Astara ; ZM-CBSU S013, 1, & S033, 215, off Anzali ; ZM-CBSU S058, 3, Sefidroud mouth, Gilan Province , Iran ; ZM-CBSU S071, 2, off Miankaleh , Mazandaran Province , Iran . IUCN: LC ( Freyhof & Kottelat 2008j ).