Ponticola hircaniaensis Zarei, Esmaeili, Kovačić, Schliewen & Abbasi, 2022

Zarei, Fatah, Esmaeili, Hamid Reza, Abbasi, Keyvan, Kovačić, Marcelo, Schliewen, Ulrich K. & Stepien, Carol A., 2022, Gobies (Teleostei: Gobiidae) of the oldest and deepest Caspian Sea sub-basin: an evidence-based annotated checklist and a key for species identification, Zootaxa 5190 (2), pp. 151-193 : 179

33. Ponticola hircaniaensis Zarei, Esmaeili, Kovačić, Schliewen & Abbasi, 2022 ( Fig. 30 ), Hyrcanian Goby

Ponticola hircaniaensis Zarei, Esmaeili, Kovačić, Schliewen & Abbasi, 2022: 408 , figs. 5–6; type locality: Kaboudval Stream , Golestan province, Iran, 36°53’11.0” N 54°53’37.8” E; holotype: ZM-CBSU S101-6 , male, 98.5 mm TL, 76.9 mm SL, paratypes: ZM-CBSU S099-1 to S099-12 , S100-1 to S100-4 , S101-1 to S101-5 & S101-7 to S101-15, additional material: ZM-CBSU S099 (29) , ZM-CBSU S100 (26) , ZM-CBSU S101 (9).

Etymology: Named for Hyrcania , the Greek name for the south Caspian region where the species occurs.

Distribution and habitat: Endemic to the Kaboudval Stream, a South Caspian Sea sub-basin drainage ( Fig. 27A ). Its small population is confined to a single area above the Zarrin Gol Dam ( Zarei et al. 2022a).

Remarks: Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA analyses have suggested hybridization between P. hircaniaensis and P. gorlap at Kaboudval ( Zarei et al. 2022a).

Material examined: types and additional non-type material, Kaboudval Stream , Golestan Province, Iran .

IUCN: NE. Based on a narrow geographic range isolated above the Zarrin Gol Dam (<2 km 2), extensive hybridization with P. gorlap , and other threats, P. hircaniaensis should be labelled as Critically Endangered (CR) ( Zarei et al. 2022a).

Figures

FIGURE 27. Distributions of (A) Ponticola hircaniaensis, Ponticola iranicus, Ponticola patimari, and Ponticola cyrius, (B) Ponticola gorlap, (C) Ponticola goebelii, (D) Ponticola syrman, and (E) Proterorhinus nasalis in the Caspian Sea basin.

FIGURE 30. Ponticola hircaniaensis. ZM-CBSU S099-5, male, paratype, 73.55 mm SL, Kaboudval Stream, Golestan Province, Iran (Zarei et al. 2022a).