Barbels are group of small

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

-like

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

fish, almost all of the genus ''

Barbus ''Barbus'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. The type species of ''Barbus'' is the common barbel, first described as ''Cyprinus barbus'' and now named ''Barbus barbus''. ''Barbus'' is the namesake genus of the subfamil ...

''. They are usually found in gravel and rocky-bottomed slow-flowing waters with high dissolved oxygen content. A typical adult barbel can range from 25 to 100 cm in length and weigh between 200 g and 10 kg, although weights of 200 g are more common. Babies weigh 100–150 g. Barbel

roe Roe ( ) or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooked in ...

is poisonous and causes vomiting and diarrhea in some people. However, the fish itself can be eaten and recipes are available in The Illustrated London Cookery Book by Frederick Bishop. The name barbel derived from the Latin ''barba'', meaning beard, a reference to the two pairs of

barbels In fish anatomy and turtle anatomy, a barbel is a slender, whiskerlike sensory organ near the mouth. Fish that have barbels include the catfish, the carp, the goatfish, the hagfish, the sturgeon, the zebrafish, the black dragonfish and some s ...

, a longer pair pointing forwards and slightly down positioned, on the side of the mouth. Fish described as barbels by English-speaking people may not be known as barbels in their native country, although the root of the word may be similar. For instance, the Mediterranean barbel (''Barbus meridionalis'') is known as ''barbeau méridional'' or ''barbeau truité'' in France, but also as ''drogan'', ''durgan'', ''tourgan'', ''turquan'' and ''truitat''.

Europe

'' Barbus barbus'', the barbel native to Great Britain, is known simply as the barbel and is a popular sport fish. Subspecies of ''B. barbus'' are recognised; namely ''B. barbus bocagei'', ''B. barbus sclateri'', ''B. barbus thessalus'' and ''B. barbus plebejus''. The Mediterranean barbel (''Barbus meridionalis'') is found in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. It is a much smaller fish than ''B. barbus''. Other barbel in Europe include ''Barbus sclateri'', sometimes known as the European barbel; the Italian barbel (''Barbus tyberinus''); the Albanian barbel (''Barbus albanicus''); and the Iberian barbel, which is found in Spain and Portugal and is eaten by many European duck species.

Asia

The Crimean barbel (''Barbus tauricus'') is found in the Salgir River in the

Crimean peninsula Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a po ...

. A sub-species, the Kuban barbel (''Barbus tauricus kubanicus'') is found in the upper and middle

Kuban River The Kuban; Circassian: Псыжъ, ''Psyẑ'' or Псыжь, ''Psyź'' ; abq, Къвбина, ''Q̇vbina'' ; Karachay–Balkar: Къобан, ''Qoban''; Nogai: Кобан, ''Qoban'') is a river in Russia that flows through the Western Cauca ...

in Russia. The Aral barbel (''Barbus brachycephalus'') is found in Central Asia, and the sub-species ''B. brachycephalus caspius'' (the Caspian Barbel) is found in 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 ...

. The Bulatmai barbel (''Barbus capito carpito'', formerly ''Cyprinus capito'') is found in the Kura river in Trans-caucasia. The Terek barbel (''Barbus ciscaucasicus'') is found in the

Kuma River, Russia The Kuma (russian: Кума́) is a river on the Black Sea-Caspian Steppe of southern Russia. It flows northeast into the Caspian Sea. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . Its source is in the Greater Caucasus, in the republic Karachay-Cher ...

. The Turkestan barbel (''Barbus conocephalus'') is found in the

Zeravshan Zarafshon ( uz, Zarafshon / Зарафшон, fa, زرافشان) is a city in the center of Uzbekistan's Navoiy Region. Administratively, it is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Muruntau. It has an area of and it ...

river. The Gokcha barbel (''Barbus goktschaicus'') is found in the

Lake Sevan Lake Sevan ( hy, Սևանա լիճ, Sevana lich) is the largest body of water in both Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater high-altitude (alpine) lakes in Eurasia. The lake is situated in Gegharkunik Province, ...

in Armenia. The Kura barbel (''Barbus lacerta'' formerly ''Mtkvari barbel'') is found in Syria. The Himri barbel (''Barbus luteus'') is native to Mesopotamian rivers. The Amur barbel or Barbel steed (''Hemibarbus labeo'') is found in the Amur basin and elsewhere in east and south-east Asia, including south-east Siberia.

Africa

''Barbus callensis'' is found in Tunisia. The Ripon barbel ('' Barbus altianalis'') is found in the

African Great Lakes The African Great Lakes ( sw, Maziwa Makuu; rw, Ibiyaga bigari) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. They include Lake Victoria, the second-largest fresh water lake in the ...

. ''

Labeobarbus bynni ''Labeobarbus bynni'', the Niger barb, is an African species of cyprinid freshwater fish. It has often been placed in the genus ''Barbus'', but is now usually placed in ''Labeobarbus''. This is a relatively large barb, up to in total length. It ...

bynni'' is found in the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

and lakes that have been connected to that river. The sub-species ''Barbus bynni occidentalis'' is known as the Niger barb.

Other

Occasionally non-cyprinid fish are called barbels such as ''Austroglanis gilli'', or ''Schilbe mystus'', both are

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

. Some species of the genus ''

Sinocyclocheilus ''Sinocyclocheilus'' is a genus of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae endemic to China, where only found in Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan.Ma, L.; and Y.-H. Zhao (2012). Cavefish of China. Pp. 107—125 in: White, W.B.; and D.C. Cuvier, editor ...

'' a cave dwelling fish found in China have made use of the term barbel in their English common name.

Literary references

The barbel is mentioned in

Nostradamus Michel de Nostredame (December 1503 – July 1566), usually Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French astrologer, apothecary, physician, and reputed seer, who is best known for his book ''Les Prophéties'' (published in 1555), a collection o ...

''Les Prophéties'', century VII, 24 :

Fishing for barbel

Barbel, although often found in still waters, are predominantly a river-dwelling fish and are sought by many anglers. They may not be the most elusive fish in the river; in the right conditions they are fairly easy to catch. They are hardy fish who will fight right until the landing net is slipped under them. Despite this hardy nature in the water they do not cope well out of the water, and must be returned safely and quickly. It is good practice to support the fish in the water until it is fully recovered and swims away on its own. Some of the best barbel fishing venues are along the

Loddon Loddon may refer to: *Loddon, Norfolk in England, UK *Shire of Loddon in Victoria, Australia (since 1995) **Bridgewater On Loddon, Victoria in Australia *River Loddon, flows into the River Thames near Reading *Loddon River, flows north from south of ...

near

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. The

Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

Bewdley Bewdley ( pronunciation) is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District in Worcestershire, England on the banks of the River Severn. It is in the Severn Valley west of Kidderminster and southwest of Birmingham. It lies on the Riv ...

is a particular hotspot where there are different day ticket and club stretches on both sides of the bank. The UK Barbel record (21 lb 2oz, 9.58 kg) was landed by Colin Smithson from the River Rother at Fittleworth West Sussex in 2019

References

{{Reflist Barbus Fish of Central Asia Fish common names Freshwater fish of Europe