affinis, Gobius Eichwald [C. E. von] 1831:75 [Zoologia specialis quam expositis animalibus tum vivis Pars posterior [3]; ref. 5562] Balkhan Bay, Caspian Sea. No types known. Also appeared as new in Eichward 1838:104 [ref. 34622]. •Synonym of Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas 1814), but a valid subspecies affinis Eichwald 1831 -- (Berg 1949:1085 [ref. 20662], Mitrofanov & Dukravec 1989:276 [ref. 37748]). •Synonym of Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas 1814) -- (Miller 1973:503 [ref. 6888], Coad 1995:31 [ref. 23608], Kottelat 1997:179 [ref. 22952], Reshetnikov et al. 1997:756 [ref. 24702], Vasil'eva 1998:141 [ref. 23591], Charlebois et al. 1998:1 [ref. 24500], Pinchuk et al. 2003:293 [ref. 27349], Bogutskaya & Naseka 2004:231 [ref. 28183], Neilson & Stepien 2009:96 [ref. 30487], Esmaeili et al. 2010:377 [ref. 33391], Jouladeh-Roudbar et al. 2015:899 [ref. 34062], Jouladeh-Roudbar et al. 2020:237 [ref. 37983], Parenti 2021:73 [ref. 38603]). Current status: Synonym of Neogobius melanostomus (Pallas 1814). Gobiidae: Gobiinae. Habitat: freshwater, brackish, marine.