The redeye barb or Beira barb (''Enteromius radiatus''), is a widespread African species of freshwater

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 verte ...

fish which is found from Uganda south to the

Limpopo River The Limpopo River rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mountaino ...

and

Incomati River The Komati River, also known as the Inkomati River or Incomati River (in Mozambique, from Portuguese Rio Incomati), is a river in South Africa, Eswatini and Mozambique. Originating in north-western Eswatini, it is joined by the Crocodile Riv ...

systems in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. The redeye barb lives and feeds on the bottom as well as in the middle of the water column and at the surface. It prefers marginal vegetation in rivers but also occurs in marshes and among the fringing vegetation of lakes. In

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...

, redeye barbs have been recorded in rock pools in the

Komati River The Komati River, also known as the Inkomati River or Incomati River (in Mozambique, from Portuguese Rio Incomati), is a river in South Africa, Eswatini and Mozambique. Originating in north-western Eswatini, it is joined by the Crocodile R ...

, in

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fre ...

it has been recorded where the shoreline is rocky, while in the

Lake Rukwa Lake Rukwa is an endorheic lake located the Rukwa Valley of Rukwa Region, Songwe Region and Katavi Region in southwestern Tanzania. The lake is the third largest inland body of water in the country. Geography The alkaline Lake Rukwa lies midway ...

drainage system it occurs in rivers which feed the lake and associated smaller waterbodies and in

Lake Chiuta Lake Chiuta is a shallow lake on the border between Malawi and Mozambique. It lies to the north of Lake Chilwa and to the south of Lake Amaramba, which has no outlet, and the lakes are separated by a sandy ridge. Both lakes lie in a graben which ru ...

it has been reported as reasonably common in the lake and in slower flowing stretches of the inflow streams. In some drainage systems the redeye barb undertakes seasonal migratory movements. The redeye barb is crepuscular and prefers subdued light but it is also active during the night. Its main prey is invertebrates. There were previously three recognised subspecies but one of these has now been recognised as a separate species '' Enteromius profundus'' and the other two are now considered to be morphs of a single monotypic but polymorphic species The redeye barb is a small barb which has salmon or orange-tinted fins, edged with black and a conspicuous red upper half to the eye. It is countershaded with specimens from Lake Malawi having the dorsal surface coloured olive contrasting with the belly silvery white belly, these are separated by a dark lateral stripe which extends from the

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

to the snout in the majority of specimens, although in some this may be rather indistinct. The scales lying immediately above this lateral stripe are heavily spotted creating faint longitudinal stripes, markings which become more obvious in preserved specimens. The head is covered in lines of sensory pits which are apparent when a specimen is examined using a handlens. The meristic data is that there are 3 spines in the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

and 9 soft rays while the

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

has 3 spines and 6 soft rays. The maximum size is 12.0 cm

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 ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1651908 Enteromius Cyprinid fish of Africa Fish described in 1854 Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters