macrophthalmus, Gobius Kessler [K. F.] 1877:29, Pl. 2 (fig. 6) [The Aralo-Caspian Expedition; ref. 2597] Middle and southern part of Caspian Sea, depth 49-140 feet [7-20 Russian fathoms]. Syntypes: (4) BMNH 1897.7.5.11 [ex MLSU] (1), ZIN 10900 (1). •Synonym of Mesogobius gymnotrachelus (Kessler 1857), but a valid subspecies -- (Berg 1949:1099 [ref. 20662]). •Synonym of Neogobius gymnotrachelus (Kessler 1857), but a valid subspecies -- (Pinchuk 1977:590 [ref. 8999], Miller in Whitehead et al. 1986:1061 [ref. 13677], Coad 1995:31 [ref. 23608], Reshetnikov et al. 1997:755 [ref. 24702], Vasil'eva 1998:139-140 [ref. 23591], Pinchuk et al. 2003:265 [ref. 27349], Bogutskaya & Naseka 2004:230 [ref. 28183]). •Synonym of Babka gymnotrachelus (Kessler 1857) -- (Neilson & Stepien 2009:97 [ref. 30487]). •Valid as Babka macrophthalma (Kessler 1877) -- (Esmaeili et al. 2010:376 [ref. 33391], Jouladeh-Roudbar et al. 2015:896 [ref. 34062], Esmaeili et al. 2017:78 [ref. 35254], Esmaeili et al. 2018:59 [ref. 36089], Parenti 2021:68 [ref. 38603]). Current status: Valid as Babka macrophthalma (Kessler 1877). Gobiidae: Gobiinae. Distribution: Eurasia: Caspian Sea basin. Habitat: freshwater, brackish.