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 21. Hyrcanogobius bergi Iljin, 1928 ( Fig. 15 ), Berg’s Goby Hyrcanogobius bergi Iljin, 1928: 44 , figs. 7–11; type locality: North Caspian Sea , near the mouths of the Volga , Ural , and Emba rivers, Russia and Kazakhstan ; syntypes : ZIN 25417 (5), Volga. Etymology: Named after L. S. Berg, Russian ichthyologist. Distribution and habitat: The coastal waters of all three areas of the Caspian Sea ( Fig. 16A ). Gobius longecaudatus var. “c” Kessler, 1877 described from Baku Bay ( Azerbaijan ) is a synonym ( Miller & Pinchuk 2004a ). Its records are from the western coasts of the North and western Middle Caspian Sea (in Russia ) and the eastern South Caspian Sea ( Miller & Pinchuk 2004a ), also from the western South Caspian Sea (this study). Shakirova & Sukhanova (1994) also record this species from the Atrek lakes of Turkmenistan . Semi-pelagic and also benthic in inshore waters, inhabiting euryhaline to freshwaters ( Miller & Pinchuk 2004a ). In Iran , this species was recorded by us in the coastal waters off Astara. Material examined: ZM-CBSU S017-3 , 34 , & ZM-CBSU S085, 5, off Astara , Gilan Province , Iran . IUCN: LC ( Freyhof 2020 ).