''Barbus carpathicus'', the Carpathian barbel, is a species of freshwater

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 ...

belonging to 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 family which includes the carps, barbels and related fishes. This fish is found in the drainage system of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

in Europe.

Taxonomy

''Barbus carpathicus'' was first formally described in 2007 by Petr Kotík, Constantinos S. Tsigenopoulos,

Petr Ráb Petr is a Czech form of the masculine given name Peter and a surname. For information on Petr as a first name, see Peter (given name). Given name * Petr Aven (born 1955), Russian billionaire banker, economist and politician * Petr Čech (born 1982 ...

and

Patrick Berrebi Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick or ...

with its type locality given as the Ublianka River, a tributary of

Uzh River The Uzh (; translit. ''Uzh''; ; , ) is a river in Ukraine and Slovakia. Etymologists disagree about the origin of the name of the river. The Uzh is a tributary of the Laborets River, a river that flows in the Tysa Lowland in Zakarpattia Oblas ...

in the Danube River basin at Ubla in Slovakia at 48°53'N, 22°23'E. The Carpathian barb is a species within 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 ...

'' which is the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus (''genus typica'') is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearin ...

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 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 ...

within the

Etymology

''Barbus carpathicus'' is classified in the genus ''Barbus'', the name of which is the Latin for "beard". The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''carpathicus'' means belonging to the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

, this species is endemic to the northwestern Carpathians.

Identification

''Barbus carpathicus'' is distinguished from other ''Barbus'' species in the Danube basis by a combination of the following characteristics: the last unbranched fin ray of the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

is not well developed, without serration on its rear edge and has segments along its length; the lower lip is thick with a lobe in the middle, there are between 8 and 11 rows of scales between the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

and the origin of the dorsal fin and between 8 and 11 between the lateral line and the origin of the pelvic fin; the top of the head is unmarked, there are very few small, or no, spots on the cheek or operculum; the pelvic and pectoral fins are unspotted with little or no pigment in the rays which do not have any dark barring; the body is largely unmarked with indistinct dots and blotches; the

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

is unspotted or has small spots. These characteristics are, however, of little use in distinguishing this species from the

Danube barbel The Danube barbel (''Barbus balcanicus'') is a species of freshwater fish widespread in southeastern Europe. It is difficult to diagnose from e.g. ''Barbus carpathicus'' and ''Barbus petenyi'' in the field. References

* Barbus Cyprinid ...

(''B. balcanicus'') and Romanian barbel (''B. petenyi'') in the field because this species is mainly differentiated by

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...

Distribution and habitat

''Barbus carpathicus'' is native to eastern Eutropwhere it is found in the

Tisza The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa (see below) is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. It was once called "the most Hungarian river" because it used to flow entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national bo ...

river system in the Danube drainage, the

Hron The Hron (; ; ; ) is a long left tributary of the DanubeP ...

to the

Someș The Someș () or Szamos ( or ''Samosch'') is a left tributary of the Tisza in Hungary and Romania. It has a length of (including its source river Someșul Mare), of which 50 km are in Hungary.Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

drainage as far downstream as the Pilica tributary system. It is also found in the

Wierzyca The Wierzyca is a river of Poland, and a tributary of the Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, co ...

tributary system on the lower Vistula drainage and in the upper

Dniester The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Uk ...

drainage. The Carpathian barbel has been recorded from Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Romania and Ukraine.It is found in premontane and montane streams and small rivers with gravel bottoms where there is a swift to moderate current, in the summer it is commonest in shallow rapids and riffles during summer but moves to deeper spots in the winter.

References

* carpathicus Cyprinid fish of Europe Fish described in 2002 {{Barbus-stub