The binni (''Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi'') is a

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 ...

cyprinid 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 ver ...

fish

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the Tigris–Euphrates Basin in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. This fish mostly inhabits lakes and marshes, especially in densely vegetated places where it also lays its eggs, but periodically it moves into rivers. This

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 ...

is the only member in its

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

, but was included in the "

wastebasket 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 defin ...

" ''

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 ...

'' by earlier authors. It has declined in recent times due to

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

and overfishing. The binni is an elongate fish but deep-bodied for a barbel. It is overall brownish–golden with a lighter belly and darker fins. It can reach up to in total length, and in weight. The sexes are similar, but females reach a larger size. The sex ratio tend to be skewed with more males than females. Maturity is reaches when two to four years old, and the species can reach an age of up to nine years. It feeds almost entirely on plants, ranging from phytoplankton and algae to

higher plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They a ...

s. Although remains of tiny animals have been found in their stomach, these are probably ingested by mistake when feeding on plants. Known in the local Iraqi Arabic dialect as ''binni'' or ''bunni'', this fish is valued highly by the Marsh Arabs. Their fishermen traditionally employ an unusual technique of

spearfishing Spearfishing is a method of fishing that involves impaling the fish with a straight pointed object such as a spear, gig or harpoon. It has been deployed in artisanal fishing throughout the world for millennia. Early civilisations were familia ...

from a line of boats or poison-fishing with flour or dung laced with toxic ''

Digitalis ''Digitalis'' ( or ) is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous perennial plants, shrubs, and biennials, commonly called foxgloves. ''Digitalis'' is native to Europe, western Asia, and northwestern Africa. The flowers are tubular in shap ...

'' or '' Datura''; until recently net-fishing was mostly restricted to the Berbera tribe and held in low esteem. Since the 1960s however, large-scale fisheries have also been developed; once of prime importance throughout Iraq, the marshland fish stocks presumably declined notably following the draining of the Mesopotamian Marshes.USAID
, iraqmarshes.org

Umm al Binni lake Umm al Binni lake is a mostly dry lake within the Central Marshes in Maysan Governorate in southern Iraq. The wide lake is approximately northwest of the Tigris–Euphrates confluence. Because of its shape, location, and other details, it was fi ...

in Maysan Governorate, Iraq, was named after this species. Now mostly dried-up following the draining of the Central Marshes, its name attests to the former abundance of this fish and possible use as spawning ground (''Umm'' is Arabic for "mother", but does not necessarily imply procreation). The lake is of interest as a possible

impact crater An impact crater is a circular depression in the surface of a solid astronomical object formed by the hypervelocity impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact crater ...

mentioned in the

Epic of Gilgamesh The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia, and is regarded as the earliest surviving notable literature and the second oldest religious text, after the Pyramid Texts. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6408596 Barbinae Cyprinid fish of Asia Fish of Iran Fish described in 1874 Taxa named by Albert Günther