''Barbus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 ...

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 ...

. The

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

of ''Barbus'' is the

common barbel 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 ...

, first described as ''Cyprinus barbus'' and now named ''Barbus barbus''. ''Barbus'' is the namesake genus of 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, but given their relationships, that

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...

is better included in the

Cyprininae Cyprinae is a subfamily of largely freshwater ray-finned fishes, one of ten subfamilies belonging to the family Cyprinidae. This family comprises the carps, minnows, barbs and related fishes. Genera Cyprinae contains the following recognised ex ...

at least for the largest part (including the type species of ''Barbus'').

Description and uses

Their common names –

barb Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to: People * Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves * The Barbs, a band Places * Barb, ...

s and

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 – refer to the fact that most members of the genera have a pair of

s on their mouths, which they can use to search for food at the bottom of the water. Barbels are often fished for food; in some locations they are of commercial significance. The

roe Roe, ( ) or hard roe, is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooking, c ...

of barbels is poisonous, however. The large ''Barbus'' barbs are also often eaten in their native range. The smaller barbs are in some cases traded as

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

fish. Some are quite significant, but as a whole, the genus is not yet as well represented in aquaria as the

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

n ''

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 ...

''.Lambert, D.J. (1997): ''Freshwater Aquarium Fish''. Chartwell Books, Edison, New Jersey, USA.

Systematics and taxonomy

''Barbus'' has a long history as a "

wastebasket taxon 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 purpose of classifying organisms that do not fit anywhere else. They are typically defined by e ...

". Historically, most fish commonly known as " barbs" were usually placed here by default. More recently, many "barbs" have been reclassified into genera such as ''

Arabibarbus ''Arabibarbus'' is a genus of Cyprinidae. They are medium-small to very large freshwater carps found in the Western Asia.Borkenhagen, K. (2014): A new genus and species of cyprinid fish (Actinopterygii, Cyprinidae) from the Arabian Peninsula, an ...

'', ''

Barbichthys The sucker barb (''Barbichthys laevis'') is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae, the carps, barbs, minnows and related fishes. It is the only species in the monospecific genus ''Barbichthys''. This species i ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ''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 ...

'', ''

Clypeobarbus ''Clypeobarbus'' is a genus of small cyprinid fishes native to Africa. Most species are restricted to the Congo River Basin, but ''C. pleuropholis'' is also found in the Chad Basin, while ''C. bellcrossi'' is from the Zambezi and ''C. hypsolepis' ...

'', ''

Enteromius ''Enteromius'' is a genus of small to medium-sized cyprinid fish native to tropical Africa. Most species were placed in the genus ''Barbus''. Several species are only known from the type specimens, and their status and continuing existence must ...

'', ''

Hypselobarbus ''Hypselobarbus'' is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae endemic to India. Species These are currently recognized species in this genus: * '' Hypselobarbus basavarajai'' Arunachalam, Chinnaraja & Mayden, 2016 * '' Hypselobarbus bicolor'' ...

'', '' 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'', 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 ''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. S ...

'', '' Mesopotamichthys'', ''

Poropuntius ''Poropuntius'' is a genus of cyprinid fish found mainly in freshwater habitats of South Asia and Yunnan in China, but ''P. burtoni'' is from Southeast Asia. Several species have highly restricted ranges and are threatened, and one species, ''P. ...

'', ''

Probarbus ''Probarbus'' is a genus of cyprinid freshwater fish found in Mainland Southeast Asia, especially the Mekong River. The species in this genus are all large fish that are up to in standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual f ...

'', ''

Pseudobarbus ''Pseudobarbus'' is a ray-finned fish genus in the family Cyprinidae. The type species is Burchell's redfin (''P. burchelli''). The scientific name is derived from the Ancient Greek ''pseudes'' ("false") and the Latin word ''barbus'' ("beard", i ...

'', ''

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 ...

'' and ''

''.Banister, K.E. (1973): A revision of the large ''Barbus'' (Pisces, Cyprinidae) of East and Central Africa. Studies on African Cyprinidae. Part II. ''Bulletin of the British Museum, 26 (1): 3–148.'' Thus, ''Barbus'' is for the time being restricted to typical barbels, and only contains fishes from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and

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 ...

, as well as adjacent

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. However, the genus even in the reduced version is probably

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 ...

, and many African species (particularly the small ones) do not seem to belong here, either. Eventually, ''Barbus'' is likely to be restricted to the group around ''B. barbus'' – the large European to Ponto-Caspian species commonly known as "barbels". ''

'' and particularly ''

Messinobarbus ''Messinobarbus'' is a doubtful genus of the subfamily Barbinae within Cyprinidae. It was erected by Pier Giorgio Bianco, who also described ''M. carottae'' in the same paper in 1998. Synonyms *''Messinobarbus albanicus'', synonym of '' Lucioba ...

'' are highly similar and might better be included in ''Barbus'' again. They all seem to be close relatives – perhaps the closest living relatives – of ''Aulopyge huegelii''. ''

'' and ''

'' are probably closely related to this group, too, and some large

hexaploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two complete sets of chromosomes, one fro ...

barbs (e.g. '' L. reinii'') may well belong in ''Labeobarbus''. The small barbs from Africa, by contrast, are quite distinct. They might even warrant establishment of a new

– in particular 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 not included in the Cyprininae –, as they seem to be as distinct from barbels and typical carps, as these are from the

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 ...

s (which are part of the disputed Labeoninae), rendering the old "Barbinae"

. Within the small African barbs, several lineages can be recognized. These are mostly

diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Here ''sets of chromosomes'' refers to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, ...

; a

tetraploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two complete sets of chromosomes, one fro ...

group largely restricted to southern Africa is very close to ''

'' and might even be included therein. In particular, the group called "redfins" may well be

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

and belong in ''Pseudobarbus'' entirely, instead of being split between ''Pseudobarbus'' and ''Barbus''.

Species

These are the currently recognized species of this genus: * '' Barbus anatolicus''

Turan Turan (; ; , , ) is a historical region in Central Asia. The term is of Iranian origin and may refer to a particular prehistoric human settlement, a historic geographical region, or a culture. The original Turanians were an Iranian tribe of th ...

Kaya Kaya may refer to: People *Kaya (given name) * Kaya (surname) Places *Kaya, Burkina Faso, a town in Burkina Faso, capital of the department * Kaya Airport, serving the town * Kaya Department, a department or commune of Sanmatenga Province in cen ...

, Geiger & Freyhof, 2018 * '' Barbus balcanicus'' Kotlík, Tsigenopoulos, Ráb & Berrebi, 2002 (Danube barbel) * ''

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 ...

'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the starting point of modern zoologic ...

) (Common barbel) * ''

Barbus bergi ''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 Bar ...

'' Chichkoff, 1935 (Bulgarian barbel) * '' Barbus biharicus'' Antal,

László László () is a Hungarian male given name and surname after the King-Knight Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary (1077–1095). It derives from Ladislav, a variant of Vladislav Vladislav ( (', '); , ; Russian language, Russian, Ukrainian language, ...

& Kotlík, 2016 (Biharian barbel) * '' Barbus borysthenicus'' Dybowski, 1862 * '' Barbus caninus'' Bonaparte, 1839 (brook barbel) * ''

Barbus carpathicus ''Barbus carpathicus'', the Carpathian barbel, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae, the family which includes the carps, barbels and related fishes. This fish is found in the drainage system of the Danube ...

'' Kotlík, Tsigenopoulos, Ráb & Berrebi, 2002 (Carpathian barbel) * '' Barbus ciscaucasicus'' Kessler, 1877 (Terek barbel) * ''

Barbus cyclolepis ''Barbus cyclolepis'', the round-scaled barbel, is a freshwater fish species in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey. Its natural habitats are rivers and intermittent rivers. It is not considered a threatened species ...

'' Heckel, 1837 * ''

Barbus cyri ''Barbus cyri'', the Kura barbel, is a species of freshwater cyprinid fish from the Near East region. The specific epithet ''cyri'' is from the Latin for the Kura River in Georgia, which is the type locality. After synonymisation with the ...

'' De Filippi, 1865 (Kura barbel) * '' Barbus ercisianus''

Karaman Karaman is a city in south central Turkey, located in Central Anatolia, north of the Taurus Mountains, about south of Konya. It is the seat of Karaman Province and Karaman District.Barbus escherichii''

Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner descri ...

, 1897 (Ankara barbel) * '' Barbus euboicus'' Stephanidis, 1950 (Evia barbel) * '' Barbus fucini'' Costa, 1853 * ''

Barbus haasi ''Barbus haasi'', or the Catalonian barbel or redtail barb ; or ''barbo de cola roja''), is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is a small size barbel found only in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula. Morphologically i ...

Mertens __NOTOC__ Mertens () is a surname of Flanders, Flemish origin, meaning "son of Merten" (Martin (name), Martin). It is the fifth most common name in Belgium with 18,518 people in 2008. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 43.4% of all known bearer ...

, 1925 (Catalonian barbel) * '' Barbus ida'' Güçlü, Kalayci, Özuluğ, Küçük & Turan, 2021 * '' Barbus karunensis'' Khaefi, Esmaeili, Geiger & Eagderi, 2017 (Karun barbel) * ''

Barbus kubanicus The Kuban barbel (''Barbus kubanicus'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in the Kuban River to the Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov is an inland Continental shelf#Shelf seas, shelf sea in Eastern Europe conne ...

'' L. S. Berg, 1913 (Kuban barbel) * '' Barbus lacerta'' Heckel, 1843 (lizard barbel) * '' Barbus macedonicus'' Karaman, 1928 * ''

Barbus meridionalis ''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 Bar ...

'' A. Risso, 1827 (Mediterranean barbel) * '' Barbus miliaris'' De Filippi, 1863 * '' Barbus niluferensis'' Turan, Kottelat & Ekmekçi, 2009 (Simav barbel) * ''

Barbus oligolepis The Marmara barbel (''Barbus oligolepis'') is a species of cyprinid fish endemic to Turkey where it is only known from fast flowing waters with substrates of stones or pebbles. This species can reach a length of SL. Taxonomic issue '' Oliotiu ...

'' Battalgil, 1941 (Marmara barbel) * '' Barbus oscensis'' Rossi & Plazzi, 2023. * ''

Barbus peloponnesius ''Barbus peloponnesius'' is a ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. The western Balkan barbel (''B. rebeli'') is sometimes included in the present species. It is found only in Greece,Bulgaria and Albania. Its natural habitats are ri ...

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

, 1842 * '' Barbus pergamonensis'' M. S. Karaman, 1971 (Anatolian barbel) * ''

Barbus petenyi The Romanian barbel (''Barbus petenyi'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Barbus''. It occurs in the lower Danube basin of Bulgaria and Romania, as well as in several rivers of Bulgaria flowing into the Black Sea, such as Kamchiya ...

'' Heckel, 1852 (Romanian barbel) * '' Barbus plebejus'' Bonaparte, 1839 (Italian barbel) * '' Barbus prespensis'' Karaman, 1924 * '' Barbus rebeli'' Koller, 1926 (Western Balkan barbel) * '' Barbus rionicus'' Kamensky, 1899 * '' Barbus samniticus'' Lorenzoni, Carosi, Quadroni, De Santis, Vanetti, Delmastro & Zaccara, 2021 * ''

Barbus sperchiensis ''Barbus sperchiensis'' is a disputed species of cyprinid fish in 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' ...

'' Stephanidis, 1950 (Sperchios barbel) * ''

Barbus strumicae ''Barbus strumicae'' is a disputed species of European cyprinid freshwater fish. It is found in Greece, Macedonia, and Bulgaria, in drainages of the Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe ...

'' Karaman, 1955 (Strumica barbel) * ''

Barbus tauricus The Crimean barbel (''Barbus tauricus'') is a species of ray-finned fish in 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 ''Cyprin ...

'' Kessler, 1877 (Crimean barbel) * '' Barbus thessalus'' Stephanidis, 1971 (Thessalian barbel) * '' Barbus tyberinus'' Bonaparte, 1839 (Horse barbel) * '' Barbus waleckii'' Rolik, 1970 (Vistula barbel) * ''

Barbus xanthos ''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 Bar ...

'' Güçlü, Kalayci, Küçük & Turan, 2020

Fossil species

A fossil species ('' Barbus megacephalus'' Günther, 1876) is known from the

Paleogene The Paleogene Period ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Neogene Period Ma. It is the fir ...

Sipang Fauna of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

., but it probably should be placed in another genus.

References

{{Authority control Barbinae Cyprinidae genera

Description and uses

Systematics and taxonomy

Species

Fossil species

See also

References