''Puntius'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of small

freshwater fish Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, especially the difference in levels of s ...

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 Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest v ...

native to

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

and Mainland Southeast Asia, as well as

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

. Many

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), 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 ...

formerly placed in ''Puntius'' have been moved to other genera such as '' Barbodes'', '' Dawkinsia'', '' Desmopuntius'', '' Haludaria'', '' Oliotius'', '' Pethia'', '' Puntigrus'', '' Sahyadria'' and ''

Systomus ''Systomus'' is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae native to tropical Asia.Kottelat, M. (2013)The fishes of the inland waters of southeast Asia: A catalogue and core bibliography of the fishes known to occur in freshwaters, mangroves and e ...

''.Kottelat, M. (2013)
The fishes of the inland waters of southeast Asia: A catalogue and core bibliography of the fishes known to occur in freshwaters, mangroves and estuaries.
''Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Suppl. No. 27: 1–663.''Pethiyagoda, R., Meegaskumbura, M. & Maduwage, K. (2012)
A synopsis of the South Asian fishes referred to ''Puntius'' (Pisces: Cyprinidae).
''Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 23 (1): 69–95.''Raghavan, R., Philip, S., Ali, A. & Dahanukar, N. (2013)
''Sahyadria'', a new genus of barbs (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) from Western Ghats of India.
''Journal of Threatened Taxa, 5 (15): 4932–4938.''

Etymology

The name ''Puntius'' comes from ''Pungti'' (Pronounced ''Puti''), a

Bangla Bangla (Bengali: বাংলা) may refer to: *Bengali language, an eastern Indo-Aryan language *The endonym of Bengal, a geographical and ethno-linguistic region in South Asia *''Bangla-'', a prefix indicating Bangladesh Businesses and organ ...

term for small cyprinids.

Range

Fishes of the genus ''Puntius'' are found in

(west to Pakistan and south to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

) and Mainland Southeast Asia, with a single species, '' P. snyderi'', in

. The greatest

species richness Species richness is the number of different species represented in an ecological community, landscape or region. Species richness is simply a count of species, and it does not take into account the abundances of the species or their relative ab ...

is in India.

Description

The maximum size for an adult of this genus is , but most species reach and some species do not surpass . In appearance they may resemble miniature

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

and are sometimes brightly coloured or patterned.

Behavior

These fishes are

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

; their diet includes small

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s and

plant Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...

matter. Breeding is by egg scattering and takes place close to the bottom, near or within areas of dense plant growth. They do not show parental care and adults may eat the young.

Taxonomy

Historically, many species of ''Puntius'' have been classified in several genera, including ''

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 B ...

''. Despite the reclassifications, the

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

remains the same in these – except in cases of

homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of pronunciation), or homophones (equivocal words, that share the same pronunciation, regardless of spelling), or both. Using this definition, ...

ies – as ''Barbus'' and ''Puntius'' have the same

grammatical gender In linguistics, grammatical gender system is a specific form of noun class system, where nouns are assigned with gender categories that are often not related to their real-world qualities. In languages with grammatical gender, most or all nouns ...

. The closest living relatives of the spotted barbs are the genus '' Cyprinion'' and perhaps the genus '' Capoeta''. These and the other "typical"

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 barbels were formerly often separated as subfamily Barbinae, but this group is highly

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

with regard to the Cyprininae and better merged there at least for the largest part (including ''Puntius''). In particular the genus '' Barbonymus'', containing the tinfoil barb and its relatives – for some time included in ''Puntius'' – appears to be a kind of

that has

evolved convergently Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

with barbs.

Species

These are the currently recognized species in this genus: * ''

Puntius ambassis ''Puntius ambassis'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Puntius'' from India. References ambassis ''Ambassis'' is a genus of fish in the family Ambassidae, the Asiatic glassfishes. They are found widely in the Indo-Pacific r ...

'' ( F. Day, 1869) * '' Puntius amphibius'' (

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...

, 1842) (Scarlet-banded barb) * ''

Puntius aphya ''Puntius aphya'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Puntius'' native to freshwater habitats in Java, Indonesia. It is only known from a single old specimen, but its validity is questionable and recent authorities treat it as a synony ...

'' ( Günther, 1868) * ''

Puntius arenatus The Arenatus barb (''Puntius arenatus'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''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 ...

'' ( F. Day, 1878) (Arenatus barb) * '' Puntius bimaculatus'' ( Bleeker, 1863) (Redside barb) * ''

Puntius bramoides ''Puntius bramoides'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Puntius''. It has been reported from Indonesia and the Mekong in Laos, but its validity is questionable and recent authorities treat it as a synonym of ''Barbonymus balleroides ...

'' (

, 1842) * '' Puntius brevis'' ( Bleeker, 1849) * '' Puntius burmanicus'' ( F. Day, 1878) * ''

Puntius cauveriensis The Cauvery barb (''Puntius cauveriensis'') is a species of cyprinid fish endemic to the Cauvery River in Karnataka, India. References * cauveriensis Cyprinid fish of Asia Fish of India Taxa named by Sunder Lal Hora Fish described ...

'' (

Hora Hora may refer to: Companies * Hora (company), a Romanian manufacturer of stringed musical instruments People * Hora (surname) * Hora (musician), member of the Japanese duo Schwarz Stein * Hora people, an indigenous people of Bolivia Places * ...

, 1937) (Cauvery barb) * '' Puntius chola'' ( F. Hamilton, 1822) (Swamp barb) * ''

Puntius crescentus ''Puntius crescentus'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus 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 pl ...

'' G. M. Yazdani & D. F. Singh, 1994 * ''

Puntius deccanensis ''Puntius deccanensis'', the ''Deccan barb'', is a critically endangered species of ray-finned fish in the genus Puntius ''Puntius'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae native to South Asia and Mainland Southeast Asi ...

'' G. M. Yazdani & M. Babu Rao, 1976 (Deccan barb) * ''

Puntius dolichopterus The longfin Kerala barb (''Puntius dolichopterus'') is a species of fish in the family Cyprinidae. The species has been discovered, named and described by Prof. Dr. Mathews Plamoottil, Head of the Department of Zoology, Baby John Memorial Govt. Co ...

'' Plamoottil, 2015 (Longfin Kerala barb) * ''

Puntius dorsalis The long-snouted barb (''Puntius dorsalis'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Puntius. It is found in India and Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங ...

'' ( Jerdon, 1849) (Long-snouted barb) * '' Puntius euspilurus'' Plamoottil 2016 * ''

Puntius fraseri The Dharna barb (''Puntius fraseri'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus 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 spe ...

'' (

Misra Misra or Mishra may refer to: * Motor Industry Software Reliability Association * MISRA C, a software development standard for the C programming language * Misra (poetry), a term meaning a line of a couplet, or verse, in Turkic, Arabic, Persian an ...

, 1938) (Dharna barb) * ''

Puntius kamalika ''Puntius kamalika'' is a species of cyprinid fish in the genus Puntius. It is found in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=IS ...

'' N. K. A. Silva, Maduwage & Pethiyagoda, 2008 * ''

Puntius kelumi ''Puntius kelumi'' is a species of cyprinid fish in the genus Puntius. It is found in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ...

'' Pethiyagoda, N. K. A. Silva, Maduwage & Meegaskumbura, 2008 * ''

Puntius khohi ''Puntius khohi'' is a species of fish in the family Cyprinidae in Puntius genus. The species has been discovered in 2004, named and described by Dobriyal, R. Singh, Uniyal, H. K. Joshi, Phurailatpam & Bisht, Gharwhal university in Uttaranchal, ...

'' Dobriyal, R. Singh, S. P. Uniyal, H. K. Joshi, S. Phurailatpam & M. S. Bisht, 2004 * ''

Puntius kyphus ''Puntius kyphus'', is a species of barbs from a stream near Thiruvalla, India. This species reaches a length of . References kyphus Taxa named by Mathews Plamoottil Fish described in 2019 Fish of India {{Puntius-stub ...

'' Plamootitl, 2019 * ''

Puntius layardi ''Puntius layardi'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Puntius. It is found in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std= ...

'' ( Günther, 1868) * ''

Puntius madhusoodani ''Puntius madhusoodani'' is a species of fish in the family Cyprinidae in Puntius genus. The species has been discovered in 2010, named and described jointly by Krishnakumar, Benno Pereira & Radhakrishnan and a study first published in Biosystemat ...

'' Krishna Kumar, Benno Pereira & Radhakrishnan, 2012 Krishna Kumar, K., Benno Pereira, F.G. & Radhakrishnan, K.V. (2012)
''Puntius madhusoodani'' (Teleostei: Cyprinidae), a new species of barb from Manimala River, Kerala, South India.
''Biosystematica, 5 (2): 31-37.'' * ''

Puntius mahecola The Mahecola barb (''Puntius mahecola'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''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. Man ...

'' (

, 1844) (Mahecola barb) * ''

Puntius masyai ''Puntius masyai'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus 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 place ...

'' H. M. Smith, 1945 * '' Puntius melanostigma'' F. Day, 1878 * ''

Puntius morehensis ''Puntius morehensis'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''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 ...

'' Arunkumar & Tombi Singh, 1998 * ''

Puntius mudumalaiensis ''Puntius mudumalaiensis'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Puntius. It is found in Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territori ...

'' Menon & Rema Devi, 1992 * ''

Puntius muzaffarpurensis ''Puntius muzaffarpurensis'' is a species of cyprinid fish native to India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and t ...

Srivastava Srivastava (; ), also spelled variously as Shrivastava, Shrivastav or Srivastav, is a common surname found amongst the Chitraguptavanshi Kayastha community of upper caste Hindus particularly in the Hindi-speaking regions of India. Origin Srivast ...

, K. P. Verma & R. B. Sharma, 1977 * ''

Puntius nangalensis ''Puntius nangalensis'' is a species of cyprinid fish endemic to India. It inhabits littoral areas of lakes. References Puntius Freshwater fish of India Endemic fauna of India Fish described in 1990 {{puntius-stub ...

Jayaram Jayaram Subramaniam, (born 10 December 1965) known mononymously as Jayaram, is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam,Tamil cinema, Tamil films, along with a few Telugu cinema, Telugu films. He is also a chend ...

, 1990 * ''

Puntius nelsoni The Travancore yellow barb (''Puntius nelsoni'') is a species of fish in the family Cyprinidae. The species was discovered in 2011, and was subsequently named and described by Mathews Plamoottil from the Baby John Memorial Government College, ...

'' Plamoottil, 2014 (Travancore yellow barb) * ''

Puntius nigronotus The Malabar black-backed barb (''Puntius nigronotus'') is a species of fish in the family Cyprinidae in the Puntius ''Puntius'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae native to South Asia and Mainland Southeast Asia, as we ...

'' Plamoottil, 2014 Plamoottil, M. (2014)
''Puntius nigronotus'', a new fish species (Cypriniformes; Cyprinidae) from Kerala, India.
''Journal of Research in Biology, 4 (8): 1581–1588.'' (Malabar black-backed barb) * '' Puntius ocellus'' Plamoottil & Vineeth, 2020Egypt. Acad. J. Biolog. Sci. (B. Zoology) Vol. 12(2) pp: 93-102(2020) * '' Puntius parrah'' F. Day, 1865 (Parrah barb) * ''

Puntius paucimaculatus ''Puntius paucimaculatus'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Puntius''. It is found in freshwater habitats in China, but its validity is questionable and it may be a synonym of ''Barbodes semifasciolatus :''This species may be conf ...

'' Y. H. Wang & Y. Ni, 1982 * ''

Puntius pugio ''Puntius pugio'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Puntius. It is found in Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English alth ...

'' S. O. Kullander, 2008 * ''

Puntius punjabensis ''Puntius punjabensis'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus 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 ...

'' ( F. Day, 1871) * ''

Puntius puntio The Puntio barb (''Puntius puntio'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Puntius. It is found in India, Bangladesh and Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require ...

'' ( F. Hamilton, 1822) (Puntio barb) * ''

Puntius sahyadriensis The Khavli barb or Indian maharaja barb (''Puntius sahyadriensis'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Puntius. It is found in Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in th ...

Silas Silas or Silvanus (; Greek: Σίλας/Σιλουανός; fl. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the New Testament accompanied Paul the Apostle on his second missionary journey. Name and ...

, 1953 (Khavli barb) * ''

Puntius sanctus ''Puntius sanctus'' is a species of barbs native to a small body of water at Velankanni of Tamil Nadu, India.This species reaches a length of . References *https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/a-silver-fish-from-velankanni/article31 ...

'' Plamoottil 2020 * ''

Puntius sealei ''Puntius sealei'' is a species of cyprinid fish endemic to Borneo where it is an inhabitant of streams and rivers. This species can reach a length of TL. References sealei Fish described in 1933 {{Barbinae-stub ...

'' ( Herre, 1933) * ''

Puntius somphongsi ''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'', ...

'' ( Benl & Klausewitz, 1962) * ''Pool barb, Puntius sophore'' ( F. Hamilton, 1822) (Pool barb) * ''Puntius sophoroides'' (Albert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther, Günther, 1868) * ''Puntius spilopterus'' (Henry Weed Fowler, Fowler, 1934) * ''Puntius takhoaensis'' Nguyen & Doan, 1969) * ''Puntius terio'' ( F. Hamilton, 1822) (Onespot barb) * ''Puntius tetraspilus'' Günther, 1868) * ''Puntius thermalis''

, 1844) * ''Puntius titteya'' Paules Edward Pieris Deraniyagala, Deraniyagala, 1929 (Cherry barb) * ''Puntius viridis'' Plamoottil & Nelson P. Abraham, Abraham, 2014 Plamoottil, M. & Abraham, N.P. (2014)
''Puntius viridis'' (Cypriniformes, Cyprinidae), a new fish species from Kerala, India.
''Journal of Research in Biology, 3 (7): 1093–1104.'' (Spotfin green barb) * ''Puntius vittatus'' F. Day, 1865 (Greenstripe barb) * ''Puntius waageni'' ( F. Day, 1872)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q131627 Puntius, Barbs (fish), Cyprinidae genera Fish of Southeast Asia Fish of South Asia Taxa named by Francis Buchanan-Hamilton