''Labeobarbus intermedius'' is an

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

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 are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 ...

. Like the closely related

yellowfish ''Labeobarbus'' is a mid-sized ray-finned fish genus in the family Cyprinidae. Its species are widely distributed throughout eastern Africa and especially southern Africa, but also in Lake Tana in Ethiopia. A common name, in particular for the s ...

, it is

hexaploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contains ...

. A large species, the maximum recorded

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

is nearly . This species has a subspecies named '' Labeobarbus intermedius intermedius''.

Systematics and taxonomy

The year of its first description – as ''Barbus intermedius'' – was for some time erroneously reported as 1837. ''L. intermedius'' was still placed by most modern authors in the "

wastebin genus Wastebasket taxon (also called a wastebin taxon, dustbin taxon or catch-all taxon) is a term used by some taxonomists to refer to a taxon that has the sole purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically define ...

" ''

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 subfamily B ...

'' by default, and the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

still does so until a thorough

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

revision of the

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n "

barb Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to: People * Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves * The Barbs, a band Places * Barb, ...

s" is published. However, the species is increasingly being restored to the related

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Labeobarbus'', which seems a much more appropriate placement. It is a close relative of ''

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 ...

'', another African "barb". No

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are recognized at present. The population from the Barino River basin invalidly described as ''L. i. australis'' is identical to the earlier-named ''gregorii'', but probably not sufficiently distinct from its

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organ ...

s to consider it a separate

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

. The same holds true for the supposed subspecies ''leptosoma'' and ''microstoma''. Important

junior synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...

s of this species are: * ''Barbus erlangeri'' Boulenger, 1903 * ''Barbus gregorii'' Boulenger, 1902 * ''Barbus intermedius'' Rüppell, 1835 * ''Barbus intermedius intermedius'' Rüppell, 1835 * ''Barbus intermedius australis'' Banister, 1973 * ''Barbus intermedius leptosoma'' Boulenger, 1902 * ''Barbus intermedius microstoma'' Boulenger, 1902 * ''Barbus plagiostomus'' Bini, 1940 * ''Labeobarbus intermedius australis'' (Banister, 1973) * ''Luciobarbus elongatus'' (Rüppell, 1836) Its close relatives '' L. brevicauda'', '' L. gorgorensis'' and '' L. johnstonii'' (under the name ''latirostris''), and even the rather distinct ''

Barbus eurystomus ''Labeobarbus johnstonii'' is a species of cyprinid fish. It has long been placed in ''Barbus'', the "wastebin genus" for barbs, by default, and this is still being done by the IUCN. However, the species is increasingly being restored to related ...

'', were for some time placed in ''"B." intermedius'' as subspecies too. But are considered distinct species today. ''B. procatopus'' is sometimes believed to refer to the present species, but it is actually a

of the

ripon barbel The Ripon barbel (''Labeobarbus altianalis'') is an East African ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. A notably large barb, its maximum recorded total length is . Taxonomy Like other African "barbs", placement of this species in '' ...

(''B. altianalis'').

Distribution and ecology

This

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 is found in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

and southern

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are the Kerio,

Suguta The Suguta Valley, also known as the Suguta Mud Flats, is an arid part of the Great Rift Valley in Kenya (Africa), directly south of Lake Turkana. Location The Suguta valley today is one of the driest parts of Kenya, with annual rainfall below . ...

, Turkwel and northern Ewaso Ng'iro Rivers and their

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

, as well as

Lake Baringo Lake Baringo is, after Lake Turkana, the most northern of the Kenyan Rift Valley lakes, with a surface area of and an elevation of . The lake is fed by several rivers: the Molo, Perkerra and Ol Arabel. It has no obvious outlet; the waters ar ...

, Bogoria and Turkana and their associated rivers. The records from the Tana River region are based on mislabelled specimens, while the supposed records from the

Mara River The Mara River is a river in that begins in Narok County (Kenya) and in ends in Mara Region (Tanzania), and lies across the migration path of ungulates in the Maasai Mara/Serengeti ecosystem. The River's Flow The Mara River basin covers a sur ...

and

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 ...

appear to be based on misidentifications of the Ripon Barbel. Little is known about its

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

and

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

, but given its wide range and lack of readily apparent threats, it is not considered a

threatened species Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

by the

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2409703

intermedius The vastus intermedius () (Cruraeus) arises from the front and lateral surfaces of the body of the femur in its upper two-thirds, sitting under the rectus femoris muscle and from the lower part of the lateral intermuscular septum. Its fibers end ...

Fish of Lake Turkana Taxa named by Eduard Rüppell Fish described in 1835 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot