''Barbonymus'' is a

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, containing some

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, ...

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 ...

. The genus was only established in 1999, with the

tinfoil barb The tinfoil barb (''Barbonymus schwanenfeldii'') is a tropical Southeast Asian freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae. This species was originally described as ''Barbus schwanenfeldii'' by Pieter Bleeker in 1853, and has also been placed in th ...

(''B. schwanenfeldii'') as

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

; thus, these fish are sometimes collectively called tinfoils. The new genus was established in recognition of the fact that some large Asian "barbs", formerly rather indiscriminately lumped in ''

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 ...

'' (typical

barbel Barbel may refer to: *Barbel (anatomy), a whisker-like organ near the mouth found in some fish (notably catfish, loaches and cyprinids) and turtles *Barbel (fish), a common name for certain species of fish **''Barbus barbus'', a species of cyprinid ...

s and relatives), ''

Barbodes ''Barbodes'' is a genus of small to medium-sized cyprinid fish native to tropical Asia. The majority of the species are from Southeast Asia. Many species are threatened and some from the Philippines (Lake Lanao) are already extinct. A survey carr ...

'' (barb-like carps) 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 ...

'' (spotted barbs), form a distinct

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

ary lineage. Barbon gonion 120127-22832 tsm

They are actually very close relatives of the

common carp The Eurasian carp or European carp (''Cyprinus carpio''), widely known as the common carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia.Fishbase''Cyprinus carpio'' Linnaeus, 1758/ref>Arkive The ...

(''Cyprinus carpio''). Even though only five species are included at present, it is not certain whether these form a

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 ...

lineage; the Java barb (''B. gonionotus'') for example seems to be very close indeed to ''

Cyclocheilichthys ''Cyclocheilichthys'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae containing approximately eight valid species. They are native to freshwater habitats in Southeast Asia and China. Two additional species are alternately placed in the g ...

'', which unites a number of barb-like "

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 ...

s". Past

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

ization is known widely in Cyprinidae, and confounds

molecular A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioche ...

and other

cladistic Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups (" clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived char ...

studies relying on a single source of data. Altogether the delimitation of the

typical carp ''Cyprinus'' is the genus of typical carps in family Cyprinidae. Most species in the genus are of East Asia origin with only the common carp (''C. carpio'') in Western Asia and Europe; this invasive species has also been Introduced species, intr ...

s and allied genera remains still not fully solved.

Species

There are currently 10 recognized species in this genus:Kottelat, M. (2013)
The Fishes of the Inland Waters of Southeast Asia: A Catalogue and Core Bibliography of the Fishes Known to Occur in Freshwaters, Mangroves and Estuaries.
''The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 2013, Supplement No. 27: 1–663.'' * ''

Barbonymus altus The red tailed tinfoil or red tailed tinfoil barb (''Barbonymus altus'') is a species of freshwater cyprinid fish from South-East Asia. It lives in the Mekong and Chao Phraya The Chao Phraya ( or ; th, แม่น้ำเจ้าพ� ...

'' ( Günther, 1868) (red-tailed tinfoil) * ''

Barbonymus balleroides ''Barbonymus balleroides'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''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 b ...

'' (

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

, 1842) * ''

Barbonymus belinka ''Barbonymus belinka'' is a species of cyprinid fish native to Indonesia and Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, th ...

'' (

Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Barbonymus collingwoodii ''Barbonymus collingwoodii'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Barbonymus'' which is found in fast flowing, cold upland streams in Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in ...

'' ( Günther, 1868) * ''

Barbonymus gonionotus The Java barb (''Barbonymus gonionotus''; th, ตะเพียน ''Ta-phian''; Lao language, Lao: ''Pa keng''; km, ត្រីឆ្ពិន ''Trey Chpin''; id, Tawes; Vietnamese language, Vietnamese: ''Mè Vinh'' ), more commonly known ...

'' (

Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Barbonymus mahakkamensis ''Barbonymus mahakkamensis'' is a species of cyprinid fish endemic to the island of Borneo where it is only known from the Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the ...

'' ( C. G. E. Ahl, 1922) * '' Barbonymus platysoma'' (

Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Barbonymus schwanenfeldii'' (

Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Barbonymus strigatus'' (

Boulenger Boulenger is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Benjamin Boulenger (born 1990), French footballer * Edward George Boulenger (1888–1946), British zoologist, director of aquarium at London Zoo * George Albert Boulenger (1858–1 ...

, 1894) * '' Barbonymus sunieri'' ( M. C. W. Weber & de Beaufort, 1916)

References

* (2007): Evolutionary origin of Lake Tana's (Ethiopia) small ''Barbus'' species: indications of rapid ecological divergence and speciation. '' Anim. Biol.'' 57(1): 39–48. (HTML abstract) Cyprinidae genera Barbs (fish) {{Cyprininae-stub