Benthophilinae Explained

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

External links

Notes and References

  1. Simonović P.D., Nikolić V.P., Skóra K.E. (1996) Vertebral number in Ponto-Caspian gobies: phylogenetic relevance. J. Fish Biol., 49: 1027–1029.
  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. UNESCO, Paris.
  3. Pinchuk V.I. (1991) K voprosu o grupirovkakh vidov v predelakh roda Neogobius (Perciformes). Voprosy Ikhtiologii, 31: 380–393.
  4. W. Eschmeyer (2015) Catalog of Fishes California Academy of Sciences (1 Mar 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.https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2008.12.023