Barbels are a group of

carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...

-like

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

fish, almost all of the genus ''

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 ...

''. They are usually found in gravel and rocky-bottomed moderate-flowing rivers with high dissolved oxygen content, known as the '' Barbel zone''. A typical adult barbel can range from in length and weigh between and , depending on species. The name barbel derived from the Latin ''barba'', meaning beard, a reference to the two pairs of

barbels In fish anatomy and turtle anatomy, a barbel is a slender, whisker like sensory organ near the mouth (sometimes called whiskers or tendrils). Fish that have barbels include the catfish, the carp, the goatfish, the hagfish, the sturgeon, the z ...

, a longer pair pointing forwards and slightly down positioned, on the side of the mouth. Fish described as barbels by English-speaking people may not be known as barbels in their native language, although the root of the word may be similar. For instance, the Mediterranean barbel (''Barbus meridionalis'') is known as ''barbeau méridional'' or ''barbeau truité'' in France, but also as ''drogan'', ''durgan'', ''tourgan'', ''turquan'' and ''truitat''.

Europe

Barbus barbus The common barbel (''Barbus barbus'') is a species of freshwater fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae. It shares the common name 'barbel' with its many relatives in the genus ''Barbus'', of which it is the type species. In Great Britain it is ...

'', is found throughout northern and eastern Europe, ranging north and east from Great Britain, the Pyrénées and Alps to Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Ukraine and Russia and the northern Black Sea basin, is known simply as the barbel in the and is a popular sport fish, weighing up to . No subspecies of ''B. barbus'' are recognised. The Mediterranean barbel ('' Barbus meridionalis'') is found in Spain and the south of France. It is a much smaller fish than ''B. barbus''. Other barbel in Europe include '' Luciobarbus sclateri'', sometimes known as the European barbel; the Italian barbel ('' Barbus plebejus''); the Albanian barbel ('' Barbus albanicus''); '' Barbus thessalus'', '' Barbus tyberinus'' and the Iberian barbels, (''

Luciobarbus bocagei ''Luciobarbus bocagei'' is a ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. Its scientific name honours the Portuguese zoologist and politician Jose Vicente Barboza du Bocage. It is here placed in '' Luciobarbus'' following the IUCN, but that ...

'' and ''

Luciobarbus comizo The Iberian barbel (''Luciobarbus comizo'') is a ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. It is here placed in '' Luciobarbus'' following the IUCN, but that genus is very closely related to the other typical barbels and perhaps better co ...

'') which are found in Spain and Portugal and are eaten by many European duck species. These both grow larger than ''B. barbus'', up to for the Comizo barbel. The Dalmatian barbelgudgeon ('' Aulopyge huegelii'') is an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

, native to Bosnia and Croatia. It relies on

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

cave systems to

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawning, the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** ''Spawn: Armageddon' ...

Asia

The Mangar or pike barbel (''Luciobarbus esocinus'') is found in

Tigris–Euphrates river system The Tigris–Euphrates river system is a large river system in West Asia that flows into the Persian Gulf. Its primary rivers are the Tigris and Euphrates, along with smaller tributary, tributaries. From their sources and upper courses in the Ar ...

, and can grow to The species scientific name essentially means "pike-like pike-barbel" (after the northern pike, ''Esox lucius''), though a more literal translation would be "pike-like wolf-barbel". The Crimean barbel ('' Barbus tauricus'') is found in the Salgir River in the

Crimean peninsula Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrai ...

. Also the Kuban barbel ('' Barbus kubanicus'') is found in the upper and middle

Kuban River The Kuban is a river in Russia that flows through the Western Caucasus and drains into the Sea of Azov. The Kuban runs mostly through Krasnodar Krai for , but also in the Karachay–Cherkess Republic, Stavropol Krai and the Republic of Adygea. ...

in Russia. The Aral barbel ('' Luciobarbus brachycephalus'') is found in Central Asia, and ''Luicobarbus caspius'' (the Caspian Barbel) is found in the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

. The Bulatmai barbel (''Luciobarbus capito'', formerly ''Cyprinus capito'') is found in rivers of the Aral and

basins. The Kura barbel (Gokcha or Mtkvari barbel ''Barbus cyri'') is found in the Kura river in Trans-caucasia and

Lake Sevan Lake Sevan () is the largest body of water in both Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater Alpine lake, high-altitude (alpine) lakes in Eurasia. The lake is situated in Gegharkunik Province, at an altitude of abov ...

in Armenia. The Terek barbel (''Barbus ciscaucasicus'') is found in the Kuma River, Russia. The Lizard barbel (''Barbus lacerta'') is found in Syria. The Amur barbel or Barbel steed ('' Hemibarbus labeo'') is found in the Amur basin and elsewhere in east and south-east Asia, including south-east Siberia. The bihorned barbel (''Tariqilabeo bicornis'') is found in Burma and India. The Fourbarbel scraper ('' Capoeta baliki'') is a related species found in Turkey in Asia.

Africa

Several small species called barbel including '' Luciobarbus callensis'' are found in the

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...

region of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The largest of these, '' Luciobarbus maghrebensis'', is almost the same size as ''B. barbus''. The Ripon barbel ('' Labeobarbus altianalis'') is found in the

African Great Lakes The African Great Lakes (; ) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. The series includes Lake Victoria, the second-largest freshwater lake in the world by area; Lake Tangan ...

. '' Labeobarbus bynni bynni'' is found in the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

and lakes that have been connected to that river. The sub-species ''Labeobarbus bynni occidentalis'' is known as the Niger barb.

Other

Occasionally non-cyprinid fish are called barbels such as '' Austroglanis gilli'', or ''

Schilbe mystus The African butter catfish (''Schilbe mystus'') is a species of fish in the family Schilbeidae. It is native to many major river systems in Africa. Other common names for the fish include butter fish, butter barbel, African glass catfish, luban ...

'', both are

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

. One, '' Galeichthys feliceps'' is a marine catfish. Some species of the genus ''

Sinocyclocheilus ''Sinocyclocheilus'' is a genus of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae that is endemic to Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan in China.Ma, L.; and Y.-H. Zhao (2012). Cavefish of China. Pp. 107—125 in: White, W.B.; and D.C. Cuvier, editors. Encycl ...

'', cave dwelling fish found in China, have made use of the term barbel in their English common name.

References

{{Reflist Barbus Fish of Central Asia Fish common names Freshwater fish of Europe Paraphyletic groups

Europe

Asia

Africa

Other

See also

References