Benthophilinae

Benthophilinae
The pale monkey goby ( Neogobius fluviatilis ) and the dark bighead goby ( Ponticola kessleri ) are representatives of Benthophilinae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Gobiiformes
Family:	Gobiidae
Subfamily:	Benthophilinae Beling & Iljin, 1927
Type genus
Benthophilus Eichwald, 1831
Genera
See text

The Benthophilinae are a subfamily of gobies endemic to the Ponto-Caspian region (including the Marmara, Black, Azov, Caspian, and Aral Seas). ^[1] The subfamily includes about 50 species. The representatives of the subfamily have fused pelvic fins and elongated dorsal and anal fins. ^[2] They are distinguished from the closely related subfamily Gobiinae by the absence of a swimbladder in adults and location of the uppermost rays of the pectoral fins within the fin membrane. ^[3]

The Catalog of Fishes still considers these fishes as belonging to the subfamily Gobiinae. ^[4]

Systematics of the subfamily

• Tribe Benthophilini
  • Anatirostrum
  • Benthophiloides
  • Benthophilus (type genus)
  • Caspiosoma
• Tribe Neogobiini
  • Neogobius (type genus)
• Tribe Ponticolini
  • Babka
  • Mesogobius
  • Ponticola (type genus)
  • Proterorhinus ^[5]

References

1. Simonović P.D.; Nikolić V.P.; Skóra K.E. (1996). "Vertebral number in Ponto-Caspian gobies: phylogenetic relevance". J. Fish Biol. 49 (5): 1027–1029. Bibcode:1996JFBio..49.1027S. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.1996.tb00098.x.
2. Miller P.J. (1986). "Gobiidae". In Whitehead P.J.P.; Bauchot M.-L.; Hureau J.-C.; Nielsen J.; Tortonese E. (eds.). Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Vol. 3. Paris: UNESCO.
3. Pinchuk V.I. (1991). "K voprosu o grupirovkakh vidov v predelakh roda Neogobius (Perciformes)" [On the issue of species groupings within the genus Neogobius (Perciformes)]. Voprosy Ikhtiologii (in Russian). 31: 380–393.
4. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard, eds. (1 March 2015). "Genera in the family Gobiinae". Catalog of Fishes (genera). California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 3 May 2015.
5. Neilson M.E.; Stepien C.A. (2009). "Escape from the Ponto-Caspian: Evolution and biogeography of an endemic goby species flock (Benthophilinae: Gobiidae: Teleostei)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 52 (1): 84–102. Bibcode:2009MolPE..52...84N. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2008.12.023. PMID   19475709.

External links

• Neogobiin research at the University of Toledo, Ohio
• Systematics of the Neogobiin Gobies Research project at U Toledo