Barbus prespensis
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''Barbus'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family
Cyprinidae Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest verte ...
. 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
subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...
Barbinae, but given their relationships, that taxon is better included in the Cyprininae at least for the largest part (including the type species of ''Barbus'').


Description and uses

Their common names – barbs and barbels – refer to the fact that most members of the genera have a pair of barbels on their mouths, which they can use to search for food at the bottom of the water. Barbels are often fished for food; in some locations they are of commercial significance. The roe of barbels is poisonous, however. The large ''Barbus'' barbs are also often eaten in their native range. At Shanhûr in Egypt, remains of a jar from the sixth- to seventh-century AD were unearthed that contained fish bones. The fish were apparently pickled to produce a dish similar to the modern ''
fesikh Fesikh or fseekh ( arz, فسيخ ' ) is a traditional celebratory ancient Egyptian dish. It is eaten by Egyptians during the Sham el-Nessim festival in Egypt, which is a spring celebration from ancient Egyptian times and is a national festival i ...
'' (or ''faseekh''). Among the ancient remains, barbs (perhaps '' Barbus perince'') were plentiful, and Egyptians now still consider ''B. perince'' good for preparing ''fesikh'', as it is traditionally done for the '' Sham el-Nessim'' (spring festival) celebrations.Van Neer, W. & Depraetere, D. (2005): Pickled fish from the Egyptian Nile : osteological evidence from a Byzantine (Coptic) context at Shanhûr. ''Revue de Paléobiologie, S.10: 159-170.'' The smaller barbs are in some cases traded as
aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...
fish. Some are quite significant, but as a whole, the genus is not yet as well represented in aquaria as the Southeast Asian ''
Puntius ''Puntius'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae native to South Asia and Mainland Southeast Asia, as well as Taiwan. Many species formerly placed in ''Puntius'' have been moved to other genera such as ''Barbodes'', ''Daw ...
''.Lambert, D.J. (1997): ''Freshwater Aquarium Fish''. Chartwell Books, Edison, New Jersey, USA. One species, '' Barbus microbarbis'' from
Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
, is known to have gone
extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
in recent times. Several others are only known from the type specimens, and their status and continuing existence must be confirmed. As many of these are from
Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...
, which underwent massive ecological upheaval after Nile perch (''Lates nilosus'') were introduced, some of them likely have not survived, either.


Systematics and taxonomy

''Barbus'' has a long history as a " wastebasket taxon". Historically, most fish commonly known as " barbs" were usually placed here by default. More recently, many "barbs" have been reclassified into genera such as ''
Arabibarbus ''Arabibarbus'' is a genus of Cyprinidae. They are medium-small to very large freshwater carps found in the Western Asia.Borkenhagen, K. (2014): A new genus and species of cyprinid fish (Actinopterygii, Cyprinidae) from the Arabian Peninsula, an ...
'', ''
Barbichthys The sucker barb (''Barbichthys laevis'') is a species of cyprinid found in Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical ...
'', '' Barbodes'', ''
Barboides ''Barboides'' is a genus of very small ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae from freshwater habitats in West Africa, West and Middle Africa. Species *''Barboides britzi'' Kevin W. Conway, Conway & Timo Moritz, Moritz, 2006 *''Barboides graci ...
'', ''
Barbonymus ''Barbonymus'' is a ray-finned fish genus in the family Cyprinidae, containing some barb species. The genus was only established in 1999, with the tinfoil barb (''B. schwanenfeldii'') as type species; thus, these fish are sometimes collectively ...
'', ''
Barbopsis The Somalian blind barb (''Barbopsis devecchi'') is a ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Barbopsis''. This troglobitic fish is found only in Somalia. There are two other cavefish species in S ...
'', ''
Caecobarbus ''Caecobarbus geertsi'', the African blind barb or Congo blind barb (known as ''Nzonzi a mpofo'' in the local Kikongo language, meaning "blind barb"), is a species of cyprinid fish. This Threatened species, threatened cavefish is only known fro ...
'', '' Capoeta'', '' Carasobarbus'', '' Clypeobarbus'', ''
Enteromius ''Enteromius'' is a genus of small to medium-sized cyprinid fish native to tropical Africa. Most species were placed in the genus ''Barbus ''Barbus'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. The type species of ''Barbus'' is ...
'', ''
Hypselobarbus ''Hypselobarbus'' is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae endemic to India. Species There are currently 26 recognized species in this genus: * ''Hypselobarbus basavarajai'' Arunachalam, Chinnaraja & Mayden, 2016 Arunachalam, M., Chinnaraja ...
'', ''
Hypsibarbus ''Hypsibarbus'' is a genus of cyprinid fish that is found in freshwater in Mainland Southeast Asia, including the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Species * '' Hypsibarbus antiquus'' Roberts & Jumnongthai, 1999 – prehistoric (fossil) * '' Hypsibarbus ...
'', '' Labeobarbus'', '' Leptobarbus'', ''
Luciobarbus ''Luciobarbus'' is a genus of ray-finned fishes in the family Cyprinidae. Its members are found in fresh and brackish waters of southern Europe, northern Africa, the wider Near East, the Aral and Caspian Seas, and rivers associated with these. Se ...
'', ''
Mesopotamichthys The binni (''Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi'') is a species of cyprinid fish endemic to the Tigris–Euphrates Basin in the Middle East. This fish mostly inhabits lakes and marshes, especially in densely vegetated places where it also lays its eggs, b ...
'', ''
Poropuntius ''Poropuntius'' is a genus of cyprinid fish found mainly in freshwater habitats of Southeast Asia and Yunnan in China, but ''P. burtoni'' is from South Asia. Several species have highly restricted ranges and are threatened, and a single ''P. spel ...
'', '' Probarbus'', ''
Pseudobarbus ''Pseudobarbus'' is a ray-finned fish genus in the family Cyprinidae. The type species is Burchell's redfin (''P. burchelli''). The scientific name is derived from the Ancient Greek ''pseudes'' ("false") and the Latin word ''barbus'' ("beard", ...
'', ''
Puntioplites ''Puntioplites'' is a genus of cyprinid fish that occurs in Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern ...
'' and ''
Puntius ''Puntius'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae native to South Asia and Mainland Southeast Asia, as well as Taiwan. Many species formerly placed in ''Puntius'' have been moved to other genera such as ''Barbodes'', ''Daw ...
''.Banister, K.E. (1973): A revision of the large ''Barbus'' (Pisces, Cyprinidae) of East and Central Africa. Studies on African Cyprinidae. Part II. ''Bulletin of the British Museum, 26 (1): 3-148.'' Thus, ''Barbus'' is for the time being restricted to the typical barbels and barbs', and only contains fishes from Africa and Europe, as well as adjacent Asia. However, the genus even in the reduced version is probably
paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...
, and many African species (particularly the small ones) do not seem to belong here, either. Eventually, ''Barbus'' is likely to be restricted to the group around ''B. barbus'' – the large European to Ponto-Caspian species commonly known as "barbels". ''
Luciobarbus ''Luciobarbus'' is a genus of ray-finned fishes in the family Cyprinidae. Its members are found in fresh and brackish waters of southern Europe, northern Africa, the wider Near East, the Aral and Caspian Seas, and rivers associated with these. Se ...
'' and particularly ''
Messinobarbus ''Barbus carottae'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Barbus'' from Lake Yliki in Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of t ...
'' are highly similar and might better be included in ''Barbus'' again. They all seem to be close relatives – perhaps the closest living relatives – of ''Aulopyge huegelii''. '' Carasobarbus'' and '' Labeobarbus'' are probably closely related to this group, too, and some large hexaploid barbs (e.g. '' L. reinii'') may well belong in ''Labeobarbus''. The small barbs from Africa, by contrast, are quite distinct. They might even warrant establishment of a new
subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...
– in particular if the Labeoninae are not included in the Cyprininae –, as they seem to be as distinct from barbels and typical carps, as these are from the garras (which are part of the disputed Labeoninae), rendering the old "Barbinae"
paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...
. Within the small African barbs, several linages can be recognized. These are mostly
diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...
; a tetraploid group largely restricted to southern Africa is very close to ''
Pseudobarbus ''Pseudobarbus'' is a ray-finned fish genus in the family Cyprinidae. The type species is Burchell's redfin (''P. burchelli''). The scientific name is derived from the Ancient Greek ''pseudes'' ("false") and the Latin word ''barbus'' ("beard", ...
'' and might even be included therein. In particular, the group called "redfins" may well be
monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...
and belong in ''Pseudobarbus'' entirely, instead of being split between ''Pseudobarbus'' and ''Barbus''.


Species

* ''
Barbus balcanicus The Danube barbel (''Barbus balcanicus'') is a species of freshwater fish widespread in southeastern Europe. It is difficult to diagnose from e.g. ''Barbus carpathicus'' and ''Barbus petenyi The Romanian barbel (''Barbus petenyi'') is a species ...
'' Kotlík, Tsigenopoulos, Ráb & Berrebi, 2002 (Danube barbel) * ''
Barbus barbus The common barbel, ''Barbus barbus'', is a species of freshwater fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae. It shares the common name 'barbel' with its many relatives in the genus ''Barbus'', of which it is the type species. In Great Britain it is ...
'' ( Linnaeus,
1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the sta ...
)
(Common barbel) * ''
Barbus bergi ''Barbus bergi'', the Bulgarian barbel, is a species of ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes ...
'' Chichkoff, 1935 (Bulgarian barbel) * ''
Barbus biharicus The Biharian barbel (''Barbus biharicus'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Barbus''. It is found in the Sebes-Körös River in Hungary and Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Centra ...
'' Antal, László & Kotlík, 2016 (Biharian barbel) Antal, L., László, B., Kotlík, P., Mozsár, A., Czeglédi, I., Oldal, M., Kemenesi, G., Jakab, F. & Nagy, S.A. (2015): Phylogenetic evidence for a new species of ''Barbus'' in the Danube River basin. ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 96: 187–194.'' * ''
Barbus borysthenicus The Dnieper barbel (''Barbus borysthenicus'') is a species of cyprinid fish in 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 ''Cyp ...
'' Dybowski, 1862 * ''
Barbus caninus The brook barbel (Barbus caninus) is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in Italy and Switzerland. Its natural habitat is rivers. It is threatened by habitat degradation and by competition from the introduced ''Bar ...
'' Bonaparte, 1839 (brook barbel) * ''
Barbus carottae ''Barbus carottae'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus '' Barbus'' from Lake Yliki in Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of ...
'' ( Bianco, 1998) * ''
Barbus carpathicus ''Barbus carpathicus'' (Carpathian barbel) is a species of cyprinid fish in the genus ''Barbus'' from eastern Europe. References

* Barbus, carpathicus Cyprinid fish of Europe Fish described in 2002 {{Barbus-stub ...
'' Kotlík, Tsigenopoulos, Ráb & Berrebi, 2002 (Carpathian barbel) * ''
Barbus ciscaucasicus The Terek barbel (''Barbus ciscaucasicus'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus '' Barbus'' which is found in the western drainage basin of the Caspian Sea from the Terek basin to the Samur basin in Dagestan, Georgia and Azerbaijan ...
''
Kessler Kessler or Keßler (in German) may refer to: * Kessler (automobile), an American automobile made 1921–1922 * Kessler (name), people named Kessler * ''Kessler'' (TV series), a British television series from 1981 * Kessler, Ohio, an unincorporat ...
, 1877
(Terek barbel) * ''
Barbus cyclolepis ''Barbus cyclolepis'', the round-scaled barbel, is a freshwater fish species in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey. Its natural habitats are rivers and intermittent rivers. It is not considered a threatened specie ...
'' Heckel, 1837 * '' Barbus ercisianus'' M. S. Karaman ( sr), 1971 * ''
Barbus euboicus The Evia barbel or petropsaro (''Barbus euboicus''), is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and r ...
'' Stephanidis, 1950 (Evia barbel) * ''
Barbus goktschaicus ''Barbus cyri'', the Kura barbel, is a species of freshwater cyprinid fish from the Near East region. The specific epithet ''cyri'' is from the Latin for the Kura River in Georgia, which is the type locality. After synonymisation with the ...
'' Kessler, 1877 (Gokcha barbel) * ''
Barbus haasi ''Barbus haasi'', or the "Catalonian barbel" ( ca, barb cua-roig; es, barbo colirrojo or ''barbo de cola roja''), is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is a small size barbel found only in the northeast of the Iberian pe ...
''
Mertens __NOTOC__ Mertens () is a surname of Flemish Origin, meaning "son of Merten" (Martin). It is the fifth most common name in Belgium with 18,518 people in 2008. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 43.4% of all known bearers of the surname ''Merte ...
, 1925
* '' Barbus kubanicus''
L. S. Berg Lev Semyonovich Berg, also known as Leo S. Berg (russian: Лев Семёнович Берг; 14 March 1876 – 24 December 1950) was a leading Russian geographer, biologist and ichthyologist who served as President of the Soviet Geographical S ...
, 1913
(Kuban barbel) * ''
Barbus lacerta The lizard barbel (''Barbus lacerta''), also known as Kura barbel, is a species of freshwater cyprinid fish from the Near East region. Kosswig's barbel is now a synonym, which also places the species in the Tigris–Euphrates river system of the M ...
'' Heckel, 1843 (Kura barbel) * ''
Barbus lorteti Lortet’s barbel (''Barbus lorteti'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is only found in the lower course of Orontes River in Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), offi ...
''
Sauvage Sauvage, French for "savage" may refer to: ; as a surname: * Catherine Sauvage (1929–1998), a French singer and actress * Cyrille Sauvage (born 1973), a French racing driver * Frédéric Sauvage (1786–1857), a French boat builder who carried ...
, 1882
* ''
Barbus macedonicus ''Barbus macedonicus'' is a species of cyprinid fish. It is found only in rivers Vardar, Pineios, Haliacmon and Loudias in northern Greece and North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 20 ...
'' S. L. Karaman, 1928 * ''
Barbus meridionalis ''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 subfamily B ...
'' A. Risso, 1827 (Mediterranean barbel) * ''
Barbus niluferensis The Simav barbel (''Barbus niluferensis'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus '' Barbus'', it is found in the southern Marmora basin in Turkey, in the Simav Simav is a town and a district of Kütahya Province in the Aegean regio ...
'' Turan,
Kottelat Maurice Kottelat (born 16 July 1957 in Delémont, SwitzerlandC ...
& Ekmekçi, 2009
* ''
Barbus oligolepis The Marmara barbel (''Barbus oligolepis'') is a species of cyprinid fish endemism, endemic to Turkey where it is only known from fast flowing waters with substrates of stones or pebbles. This species can reach a length of fish measurement, SL. ...
'' Battalgil, 1941 * ''
Barbus peloponnesius ''Barbus peloponnesius'' is a ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. The western Balkan barbel (''B. rebeli'') is sometimes included in the present species. It is found only in Greece and Bulgaria. Its natural habitats are rivers and ...
'' Valenciennes, 1842 * ''
Barbus pergamonensis ''Barbus pergamonensis'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Barbus''. It occurs in western Turkey and on the island of Lesbos. References * Barbus, pergamonensis Cyprinid fish of Asia Freshwater fish of ...
'' M. S. Karaman, 1971 (Anatolian barbel) * ''
Barbus petenyi The Romanian barbel (''Barbus petenyi'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus '' Barbus''. It occurs in the lower Danube basin of Bulgaria and Romania, as well as in several rivers of Bulgaria flowing into the Black Sea, such as Kamchiya. ...
'' Heckel, 1852 (Romanian barbel) * ''
Barbus plebejus The Italian barbel (''Barbus plebejus'') is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae, nearly related to the common barbel ''Barbus barbus''. The name barbel derived from the Latin barba, meaning beard, a reference to the two pairs ...
'' Bonaparte, 1839 (Italian barbel) * ''
Barbus prespensis ''Barbus'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the Family (biology), 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 ...
'' S. L. Karaman, 1924 * ''
Barbus rebeli The western Balkan barbel (''Barbus rebeli'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relative ...
''
Koller Koller or Köller is a Germanic surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alexander von Koller (1813-1890), Austro-Hungarian military officer * Alexandru Koller (born 1953), Romanian football player * Alice Koller (1925-2020), American wr ...
, 1926
(Western Balkan barbel) * ''
Barbus sperchiensis ''Barbus sperchiensis'' is a disputed species of cyprinid fish in the genus ''Barbus''. It is a freshwater fish endemic to the Sperchios river complex, Central Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a coun ...
'' Stephanidis, 1950 (Sperchios barbel) * ''
Barbus strumicae ''Barbus strumicae'' is a disputed species of European cyprinid freshwater fish. It is found in Greece, Macedonia, and Bulgaria, in drainages of the Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo P ...
'' S. L. Karaman, 1955 (Strumica barbel) * ''
Barbus tauricus The Crimean barbel (''Barbus tauricus'') is a species of ray-finned fish in 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 ''Cyprin ...
'' Kessler, 1877 (Crimean barbel) * ''
Barbus thessalus Thessalian barbel (''Barbus thessalus'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Barbus''. It is endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country ...
'' Stephanidis, 1971 (Thessalian barbel) * ''
Barbus tyberinus The horse barbel (''Barbus tyberinus'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Barbus'' which is endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, countr ...
'' Bonaparte, 1839 (Horse barbel) * ''
Barbus waleckii The Vistula barbel (''Barbus waleckii'') is a disputed species of European freshwater fish in the cyprinid genus '' Barbus''. It is often included in '' B. cyclolepis''. More recently, it has been hypothesized to be a natural hybrid that originat ...
'' Rolik, 1970 (Vistula barbel)


Fossil species

A fossil species (''
Barbus megacephalus ''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 subfamily Bar ...
'' Günther, 1876) is known from the
Paleogene The Paleogene ( ; British English, also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period, geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million yea ...
Sipang Fauna of Indonesia., but it probably should be placed in another genus.


See also

* Danionins


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q133326 Cyprinidae genera Taxa named by Georges Cuvier