The Caspian tadpole goby (''Benthophilus macrocephalus'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of goby which is widespread in the basin of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

, specifically in the near-estuary zone of the rivers and in small bays. It is a common species in the

Volga River The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...

delta near Astrakhan, occurred in the deltas of

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

Terek Terek may refer to: Places China * (), a list of township-level divisions of Xinjiang, town in Xinjiang, China Kyrgyzstan *Terek, Alay, a village in Alay District, Osh Region *Terek, Kara-Kulja, a village in Kara-Kulja District, Osh Region *Terek ...

, Ural,

Samur Samur may refer to: People * Samur Gunj (1380s-c.1455), a daughter of Elbeg Nigülesügchi Khan and his senior wife Kobeguntai Places * Qaleh Samur, a village in Gavork-e Sardasht Rural District, in the Central District of Sardasht County, West A ...

. During the warmer months, this species prefers to live at depths of from , moving in the colder months to depths of . It can reach a length of TL.

References

Fish of the Caspian Sea Fish of Central Asia Fish of Western Asia Fish of Russia Benthophilus Endemic fauna of the Caspian Sea Fish described in 1787 {{Gobiidae-stub