A barb is one of various

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in a non-

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

group, with members in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Cyprinidae Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family, including the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives the barbs and barbels, among others. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family, and t ...

, and especially the

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

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 Ba ...

'' 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'', '' D ...

'', 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 cyprini ...

s in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

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 membe ...

but that group is

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

with the Cyprininae. 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 else ...

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 plant organ, 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 bel ...

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

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an languages, from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''barba'' ("beard") (

COD Cod (: cod) is the common name for the demersal fish genus ''Gadus'', belonging to the family (biology), 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 ''Gad ...

): * ''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". Barbus haasi 01 by-dpc

Genera

Genera that contain species with

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

s including "barb": * '' Amatolacypris'' * ''

Balantiocheilos ''Balantiocheilos'' is a small genus of cyprinid fish from southeast Asia. It includes two species. Species *'' Balantiocheilos ambusticauda'' H. H. Ng & Kottelat, 2007 (Burnt tail fish) *'' Balantiocheilos melanopterus'' ( Bleeker, 1851) (T ...

'' – burnt-tailed 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 and Middle Africa. Species *'' Barboides britzi'' Conway Conway may refer to: Places United States * Conway, Arkansas * ...

'' * ''

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 The Somalian blind barb (''Barbopsis devecchii'') is a ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Barbopsis''. This troglobitic fish is found only in Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Repu ...

'' * ''

'' – typical barbels * ''

Caecobarbus ''Caecobarbus'' is a monospecific genus of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae. which includes the carps, barbs and related fishes. The only species in the genus is ''Caecobarbus geertsi'', the African blind barb or Co ...

'' * ''

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 northern ...

'' * '' Carasobarbus'' * '' Catlocarpio'' * '' Coptostomabarbus'' * ''

Cyclocheilichthys ''Cyclocheilichthys'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae containing approximately nine valid species. They are native to freshwater habitats in Southeast Asia and China. Species ''Cyclocheilichthys'' contains the following ...

'' * '' Dawkinsia'' * ''

Desmopuntius ''Desmopuntius'' is a genus of small freshwater cyprinids native to Southeast Asia. They were formerly included in '' Puntius''. Etymology The name ''Desmopuntius'' is derived from the Greek language δεσμψτης ("desmotes") meaning 'pris ...

'' * '' Discherodontus'' * '' Eechathalakenda'' * '' Enteromius'' – African barbs * ''

Esomus ''Esomus'', or flying barbs, is a genus of freshwater Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish belonging to the Family (biology), family Danionidae. It is the only genus in the monotypic taxon, monotypic subfamily Esominae. The fishes in this genus are fo ...

'' – flying barbs * ''

Garra ''Garra'' is a genus of fish in the family (biology), family Cyprinidae. These fish are one example of the "log suckers", Suckermouth, sucker-mouthed Barb (fish), barbs and other cyprinids commonly kept in Aquarium, aquaria to keep down algae. T ...

'' * '' Hypselobarbus'' * '' 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 ...

'' * ''

Labiobarbus ''Labiobarbus'' is a genus of cyprinid fish found in Southeast Asia. It currently contains nine described species. Species These are the species classified in this genus: * ''Labiobarbus fasciatus'' (Pieter Bleeker, Bleeker, 1853) * ''Labiobarb ...

'' * ''

Leptobarbus ''Leptobarbus'', the cigar barbs, is a genus of cyprinoid ray-finned fishes, it is the only genus in the monotypic family Leptobarbidae. The fishes in this genus are native to freshwater habitats in Southeast Asia. They are important food fish ...

'' * '' Luciobarbus'' (may belong in ''Barbus'') * ''

Megarasbora The Bengala barb (''Bengala elanga'') is a freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Danionidae. This species is the only species in the genus ''Bengala''. It is found in lakes and rivers in eastern India, Bangladesh and western Myanmar. ...

'' * '' Namaquacypris'' * ''

Osteochilus ''Osteochilus'' is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae, the family which includes the carps, barbs, minnows and related fishes. The fishes in this genus are mainly found in Southeast Asia with a few exten ...

'' * '' Paracapoeta'' * ''

Pethia ''Pethia'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae native to South Asia, East Asia (only '' Pethia stoliczkana'' recorded) and Mainland Southeast Asia. Some species are commonly seen in the aquarium trade. The name ''Pethia'' ...

'' * '' Poropuntius'' * '' Probarbus'' * '' Puntigrus'' * ''

Puntioplites ''Puntioplites'' is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family, including the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives the ...

'' * ''

'' * '' Raiamas'' – trout barb * '' Sahyadria'' * '' Sawbwa'' – Sawbwa Barb * '' Waikhomia''

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 Paraphyletic groups

Genera

See also

Footnotes

References

External links