A barb is one of various

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 h ...

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 a non-

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

group, with members in the

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

Cyprinidae, and especially the genera ''

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 ...

'' and '' Puntius'', but many others also. They were formerly united with the

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 in the subfamily

Barbinae Barbinae are a subfamily of fish included in the family Cyprinidae. The taxonomy for this group has not been entirely worked out as some genera historically considered within it are still considered incertae sedis with respect to being a member o ...

but that group is paraphyletic with the

Cyprininae The Cyprininae are one of at least 11 subfamilies of cyprinid fish. It contains three genera in its strictest definition but many more are included depending on which authority is defining it, especially if the Labeobarbinae is not considered t ...

. If the

Labeoninae Labeoninae is a doubtfully distinct subfamily of ray-finned fishes in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. They inhabit fresh water and the largest species richness is in the region around southern China, but there are also species el ...

are recognized as distinct, many small African "barbs" would probably, however, warrant recognition as a new subfamily. The

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the su ...

of the word "barb" is common in cyprinid names of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an languages, from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''barba'' ("beard") (

COD Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...

): * ''barb'' from Catalan * ''barbi'' from Finnish * ''barbo'' from Spanish * ''barbeau'' from French * ''barbo'' from Italian and many others. This is in reference to the

s which are prominently seen around the mouth of many "barbs".

Genera

Genera that contain species with common names including "barb": * '' Barbichthys'' * ''

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 ...

'' * ''

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 ...

'' – tinfoil barbs * '' Barbopsis'' * ''

'' – typical barbels (and provisionally African barbs) * ''

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 ''Capoeta'', also known as scrapers, is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae found in Western Asia. The distribution extends from Turkey to the Levant, to Transcaucasia, Iraq, Turkmenistan , in Armenia,particularly in lake Sevan and no ...

'' * ''

Carasobarbus ''Carasobarbus'', the himris, is a small genus of ray-finned fishes in the family Cyprinidae. Its species are found in rivers, streams, lakes and ponds in Western Asia and Northwest Africa. ''C. canis'' can reach in total length, but most other ...

'' * ''

Catla Catla (''Labeo catla''), ( bn, কাতলা, translit=kātlā) also known as the major South Asian carp, is an economically important South Asian freshwater fish in the carp family Cyprinidae. It is native to rivers and lakes in northern Indi ...

'' * '' Catlocarpio'' * ''

Chela (fish) ''Chela'' is a genus of small cyprinid freshwater fish from South Asia that are closely related to ''Laubuka''. Species There are currently 3 recognized species in this genus: * ''Chela cachius'' ( F. Hamilton, 1822) (Silver hatchet chela) * ' ...

'' * '' Coptostomabarbus'' * ''

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 ...

'' * ''

Discherodontus ''Discherodontus'' is a genus of small cyprinid fishes found in rivers and streams in Mainland Southeast Asia and Yunnan in China. Species There are currently six recognized species in this genus:Kottelat, M. (2013)The Fishes of the Inland Water ...

'' * ''

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 ''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 ...

'' * ''

Leptobarbus ''Leptobarbus'' is a genus of cyprinid fish that are native to freshwater habitats in Southeast Asia. They are important food fish. It is the only genus in the subfamily Leptobarbinae. Leptobarbus hoevenii or "sultan fish" migrate the fresh water ...

'' * ''

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. ...

'' (may belong in ''Barbus'') * '' Messinobarbus'' (may belong in ''Barbus'') * '' Megarasbora'' * ''

Osteochilus ''Osteochilus'' is a genus of cyprinid fishes mainly found in Southeast Asia with a few extending into adjacent parts of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List ...

'' * '' Poropuntius'' * ''

Probarbus ''Probarbus'' is a genus of cyprinid freshwater fish found in Mainland Southeast Asia, especially the Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest r ...

'' * ''

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 ...

'' * '' Puntius'' * ''

Sawbwa Chao-Pha (; Tai Ahom: 𑜋𑜧𑜨 𑜇𑜡, th, เจ้าฟ้า}, shn, ၸဝ်ႈၾႃႉ, translit=Jao3 Fa5 Jao3 Fa5, my, စော်ဘွား ''Sawbwa,'' ) was a royal title used by the hereditary rulers of the Tai peoples of ...

'' – Sawbwa Barb

Footnotes

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)

External links

*{{cite web , url = http://www.aquariumdomain.com/viewFreshwaterSpeciesList.php?species=Barbs , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090622001629/http://www.aquariumdomain.com/viewFreshwaterSpeciesList.php?species=Barbs , url-status = dead , archive-date = June 22, 2009 , title = Barbs fish species profiles , access-date = 2009-09-11 Fish common names

Genera

See also

Footnotes

References

External links