Barbel (zoology)

Last updated November 26, 2024

This Asian arowana has large, protruding barbels Arowana.jpg — This Asian arowana has large, protruding barbels

In fish anatomy and turtle anatomy, a barbel is a slender, whiskerlike sensory organ near the mouth. Fish that have barbels include the catfish, the carp, the goatfish, the hagfish, the sturgeon, the zebrafish, the black dragonfish and some species of shark such as the sawshark. Barbels house the taste buds of such fish and are used to search for food in murky water.

In fish, barbels can take the form of small, fleshy protrusions or long, cylindrical shaped extensions of the head of a fish. The cylindrical barbel shapes are built on an internal support system that can be made from ossified tissue or from cartilaginous connective tissue that provides a base for blood vessels and myelinated nerves to wrap around, held together in the dermis.^[2] Muscle tissue in the central region of the barbel allows the structure limited movement that aids in prey manipulation. On the epidermis, taste buds are situated on dermal papillae, small ridges of folded skin that increase the surface area of the skin and the total number of taste buds that can be concentrated on the barbel.^[2] Concentrations of taste buds vary from species to species, with bullhead catfish having 25 buds in a square millimeter of barbel skin.^[3]

Barbels begin to develop during the embryonic, larval, or juvenile life stages of most of the species in which they are present. Development regulation of barbels has been linked to the C-C motif ligand 33 of the chemokine family of genes, due to its presence in barbeled catfish and zebrafish and absence or difference in expression in barbel-less members of the same families.^[4] This class of genes are signalling genes that provide migrating cells directional information during morphogenesis.

Function

In most fish species, barbels are used to aid in the acquisition of food in bodies of water that have low visibility due to low light conditions or murky waters. The taste receptors are able to detect enzymes in the water and help the fish identify if it is from a possible food source or possible sources of danger.^[3] The abyssal zone scavengers Coryphaenoides armatus possess one small mandible barbel that they use to search the seafloor for carrion to eat.^[5]

Freckled Goatfish, Upeneus tragula, develop barbels as a response to food availability.^[6] When starved of food for two days under laboratory conditions, U. tragula develop large barbels compared to those developed by those who were fed consistently. The large barbels help the organism capture prey and compete against other individuals. However, individuals that developed large barbels also experienced a decreased growth rate.

In the species Triportheus signatus, individuals have been found to develop barbels late in life as a response to low dissolved oxygen in pools left after flood waters recede following the rainy season.^[7] These structures are more vascularized than barbels of other fish species to help gas exchange in low oxygen conditions and direct more water flow over the gills.

Notes

↑ "barbel". American Heritage Dictionary . Retrieved 9 April 2018.
1 2 Fox, Harold (May 1999). "Barbels and barbel-like tentacular structures in sub-mammalian vertebrates: a review". Hydrobiologia. 403: 153–193. Bibcode:1999HyBio.403..153F. doi:10.1023/A:1003778125517. S2CID 45206327.
1 2 von der Emde, Gerhard; Mogdans, Joachim; Kapoor, B. G., eds. (2004). The Senses of Fish. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-1060-3. ISBN 978-94-010-3779-2. S2CID 36978815.
↑ Zhou, Tao; Li, Ning; Jin, Yulin; Zeng, Qifan; Prabowo, Wendy; Liu, Yang; Tian, Changxu; Bao, Lisui; Liu, Shikai; Yuan, Zihao; Fu, Qiang (2018-05-29). "Chemokine C-C motif ligand 33 is a key regulator of teleost fish barbel development". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 115 (22): E5018–E5027. Bibcode:2018PNAS..115E5018Z. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1718603115 . ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 5984497 . PMID 29760055.
↑ Bailey, David M.; Wagner, Hans-Joachim; Jamieson, Alan J.; Ross, Murray F.; Priede, Imants G. (January 2007). "A taste of the deep-sea: The roles of gustatory and tactile searching behaviour in the grenadier fish Coryphaenoides armatus" (PDF). Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. 54 (1): 99–108. Bibcode:2007DSRI...54...99B. doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2006.10.005. ISSN 0967-0637.
↑ McCormick, Mark I. (July 1993). "Development and changes at settlement in the barbel structure of the reef fish, Upeneus tragula (Mullidae)". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 37 (3): 269–282. Bibcode:1993EnvBF..37..269M. doi:10.1007/bf00004634. ISSN 0378-1909. S2CID 34037401.
↑ de Freitas Barros Neto, Luciano; Frigo, Rafael Gomes; Gavilan, Simone Almeida; de Moura, Sérgio Adriane Bezerra; Lima, Sergio Maia Queiroz (2019-12-01). "Barbel development associated to aquatic surface respiration in Triportheus signatus (Characiformes: Triportheidae) from the semiarid Caatinga rivers". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 103 (1): 89–98. doi:10.1007/s10641-019-00935-x. ISSN 0378-1909. S2CID 208496992.

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Catfish are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia, the wels catfish of Eurasia, and the piraíba of South America, to detritivores, and even to a tiny parasitic species commonly called the candiru, Vandellia cirrhosa. Neither the armour-plated types nor the naked types have scales. Despite their name, not all catfish have prominent barbels or "whiskers". Members of the Siluriformes order are defined by features of the skull and swimbladder. Catfish are of considerable commercial importance; many of the larger species are farmed or fished for food. Many of the smaller species, particularly the genus Corydoras, are important in the aquarium hobby. Many catfish are nocturnal, but others are crepuscular or diurnal.

Loricariidae is the largest family of catfish, with over 90 genera and just over 680 species. Loricariids originate from freshwater habitats of Costa Rica, Panama, and tropical and subtropical South America. These fish are noted for the bony plates covering their bodies and their suckermouths. Several genera are sold as "plecos", notably the suckermouth catfish, Hypostomus plecostomus, and are popular as aquarium fish.

The channel catfish, known informally as the "channel cat", is North America's most abundant catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Tennessee. The channel catfish is the most fished species of catfish in the United States, with around 8 million anglers angeling them per year. The popularity of channel catfish for food has contributed to the rapid expansion of this species' aquaculture in the United States. It has also been widely introduced to Europe, Asia and South America, and many countries consider it an invasive species.

The abyssal grenadier, Coryphaenoides armatus, is an abyssal fish of the genus Coryphaenoides, found in all the world's oceans, at depths between 800 and 4,000 metres. Its adult length is 20 to 40 centimetres, although Fishbase gives lengths up to 1 metre. The abyssal grenadier's body is unique in that it contains two dorsal spines and about 124 dorsal soft rays, which are the flexible jointed rays supporting a fin nearest to the back in the spinal column. It has no anal spines, but has 115 anal soft rays along its body. The head and eyes of this fish are very large, while the mouth is very small. The color of the abyssal grenadier is brown apart from the abdomen, which is bluish.

The Bagridae are a family of catfish that are native to Africa (Bagrus) and Asia from Japan to Borneo. It includes about 245 species. These fish are commonly known as naked catfishes or bagrid catfishes.

Horabagrus brachysoma or the sun catfish is a species of catfish endemic to rivers in the Western Ghats of India. It is known as Günther's catfish or yellow catfish. It is also known as Manjakoori in its native range. It is also known by a host of other names, such as bullseye catfish, golden red tail catfish and solar catfish.

Ictalurus is a genus of North American freshwater catfishes. It includes the well-known channel catfish and blue catfish.

Synodontis membranaceus, known as the moustache catfish, is a species of upside-down catfish that is native to northern Africa. It was first described by French naturalist Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in 1809 as Pimelodus membranaceus, from specimens obtained in the Nile River. The species name membranaceus refers to membranes present on the barbels of the fish.

Fuelleborn's squeaker is a species of upside-down catfish that is native to Tanzania where it is found in Lake Rukwa and the Rufiji River basin. It was first described by Franz Martin Hilgendorf and Paul Pappenheim in 1903, from a specimen collected at Lake Rukwa. The species name fuelleborni is named in honor of Prof. Dr. F. Fülleborn, who collected the original sample.

The gustatory nucleus is the rostral part of the solitary nucleus located in the medulla oblongata. The gustatory nucleus is associated with the sense of taste and has two sections, the rostral and lateral regions. A close association between the gustatory nucleus and visceral information exists for this function in the gustatory system, assisting in homeostasis - via the identification of food that might be possibly poisonous or harmful for the body. There are many gustatory nuclei in the brain stem. Each of these nuclei corresponds to three cranial nerves, the facial nerve (VII), the glossopharyngeal nerve (IX), and the vagus nerve (X) and GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter involved in its functionality. All visceral afferents in the vagus and glossopharyngeal nerves first arrive in the nucleus of the solitary tract and information from the gustatory system can then be relayed to the thalamus and cortex.

Microsynodontis armatus is a species of upside-down catfish endemic to Gabon where it occurs in the Ivindo River. It was first described in 2004 by Ng Heok Hee.

Synodontis geledensis, known as the Geledi squeaker, is a species of upside-down catfish that is native to Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia where it can be found in the Lorian Swamp, the Shebelle and Ewaso Ng'iro rivers. It was first described by German zoologist Albert Günther in 1896, from specimens obtained near Geledi, on the Shebeli River in east Africa. The species name geledensis comes from Geledi, Somalia, the location where the first specimens were first found.

Synodontis macrostigma, known as the largespot squeaker, is a species of upside-down catfish that is native to Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zambia where it is found in the Cunene, Okavango, upper Zambezi and Kafue River systems. It was first described by British-Belgian zoologist George Albert Boulenger in 1911, from specimens collected in the Okovango River, Botswana, by R. B. Woosnam. The species name macrostigma is derived from the Greek word makros, meaning "large", and the Greek word stigma, meaning "mark" or "spot" and refers to the large spots on the sides of the fish.

Synodontis marmoratus is a species of upside-down catfish that is native to Cameroon where it is found in the Sanage and Nyong Rivers. It was first described by Swedish zoologist and conservationist Einar Lönnberg in 1895, from a specimen collected from Bonge, Cameroon.

Synodontis multimaculatus, known as the dotted synodontis, is a species of upside-down catfish that is native to the Democratic Republic of the Congo where it is found in the Ubangi River. It was first described by British-Belgian zoologist George Albert Boulenger in 1902, from a specimen collected in the Ubangi River in Mobayi-Mbongo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The species name multimaculatus is derived from the word multi, meaning many, and the Latin word maculatus, meaning spots, referring to the many spots on the fish.

Synodontis nigromaculatus, known as the spotted squeaker, the blackspotted squeaker, or the speckled squeaker, is a species of upside-down catfish that is found widely in southern Africa. It has been identified in Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It was first described by British-Belgian zoologist George Albert Boulenger in 1905, from specimens collected in Lake Bangweulu in Zambia.

Synodontis resupinatus is a species of upside-down catfish that is native to the Niger basin and the Bénoué River of Cameroon, Mali, and Nigeria. It was first described by British-Belgian zoologist George Albert Boulenger in 1904, from specimens obtained near Lokoja, Nigeria.

Synodontis sorex is a species of upside-down catfish that is widely distributed in the rivers of northern Africa. It was first described by German zoologist Albert Günther in 1864, from specimens obtained in the upper Nile River, near Khartoum, Sudan. The species name sorex comes from the Latin word for shrew or shrew-mouse, the allusion was not explained. It possibly describes the pointed snout or the long, slender teeth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amur catfish</span> Species of fish

Silurus asotus, commonly called the Amur catfish, Japanese common catfish, Far Eastern catfish, and Chinese catfish, is a carnivorous catfish species belonging to the Siluridae family. It lives in widespread distribution in freshwater habitats across East Asia and has a high aquaculture. As a freshwater species, it can be found only in the catchments of rivers, ponds, and lakes located in China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan, the Russian Amur Basin and northen Vietnam.

The papilla, in certain kinds of fish, particularly rays, sharks, and catfish, are small lumps of dermal tissue found in the mouth, where they are "distributed uniformly on the tongue, palate, and pharynx". They "project slightly above the surrounding multi-layered epithelium", and the taste buds of the fish are "situated along the crest or at the apex of the papillae".

References

Adriaens, D. and Verraes, W. (1997). Ontogeny of the maxillary barbel muscles in Clarias gariepinus (Siluroidei: Clariidae), with some notes on the palatine-maxillary mechanism. Journal of Zoology (London) 241, 117–133.
Bailey, D.M. , Wagner, H.J., Jamieson, A.J., Ross, M.F. and Priede, I.G. (2007) A taste of the deep-sea: The roles of gustatory and tactile searching behaviour in the grenadier fish Coryphaenoides armatus. Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 54(1), pp. 99–108. (doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2006.10.005)
de Freitas Barros Neto, L., Frigo, R. G., Gavilan, S. A., de Moura, S. A. B., & Lima, S. M. Q. (2020). Barbel development associated to aquatic surface respiration in Triportheus signatus (Characiformes: Triportheidae) from the semiarid Caatinga rivers. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 103(1), 89–98. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-019-00935-x
Eakin, R. R., Eastman, J. T. and Vacchi, M. (2006). Sexual dimorphism and mental barbel structure in the South Georgia plunderfish Artedidraco mirus (Perciformes : Notothenioidei : Artedidraconidae). Polar Biology 30, 45–52.
Fadaee, B., Pourkazemi, M., Tavakoli, M., Joushideh, H., Khoshghalb, M. R. B., Hosseini, M. R. and Abdulhay, H. (2006). Tagging and tracking juvenile sturgeons in shallow waters of the Caspian Sea (less than 10 m depth) using CWT (Coded Wire Tags) and barbel incision. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 22, 160–165.
Fox, H. (1999). Barbels and barbel-like tentacular structures in sub-mammalian vertebrates: A review. Hydrobiologia 403, 153–193.
Grover-Johnson, N. and Farbman, A. (1976). Fine structure of taste buds in the barbel of the catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Cell Tissue Res 169, 395–403.
Hawkins, M. B. (n.d.). The development and evolutionary origin of barbels in the channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus (Siluriformes: Ictaluridae). 48.
Joyce, E. C. and Chapman, G. B. (1978). Fine structure of the nasal barbel of the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Journal of Morphology 158, 109–153.
Kapoor, B. G., Evans, H. E., & Pevzner, E. A. (1976). The Gustatory System in Fish. In Advances in Marine Biology (Vol. 13, pp. 53–108). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2881(08)60280-1
LeClair, E.E. and Topczewski, J. (2009). Methods for the study of the zebrafish maxillary barbel. J Vis Exp, http://www.jove.com/video/1558/methods-for-the-study-of-the-zebrafish-maxillary-barbel?id=1558, doi : 10.3791/1558.
LeClair, E.E. and Topczewski, J. (2010). Development and regeneration of the zebrafish maxillary barbel: a novel study system for vertebrate tissue growth and repair. PLoS One 5, e8737.
McCormick, M. I. (1993). Development and changes at settlement in the barbel structure of the reef fish, Upeneus tragula (Mullidae). Environmental Biology of Fishes, 37(3), 269–282. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF0000463
Ogawa, K., Marui, T. and Caprio, J. (1997). Bimodal (taste/tactile) fibers innervate the maxillary barbel in the channel catfish. Chem Senses 22, 477–82.
von der Emde, G., Mogdans, J., & Kapoor, B. G. (Eds.). (2004). The Senses of Fish. Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1060-3
Zhou, T., Li, N., Jin, Y., Zeng, Q., Prabowo, W., Liu, Y., Tian, C., Bao, L., Liu, S., Yuan, Z., Fu, Q., Gao, S., Gao, D., Dunham, R., Shubin, N. H., & Liu, Z. (2018). Chemokine C-C motif ligand 33 is a key regulator of teleost fish barbel development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(22), E5018–E5027. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1718603115

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[1] "barbel". American Heritage Dictionary . Retrieved 9 April 2018.

[:0-2] 1 2 Fox, Harold (May 1999). "Barbels and barbel-like tentacular structures in sub-mammalian vertebrates: a review". Hydrobiologia. 403: 153–193. Bibcode:1999HyBio.403..153F. doi:10.1023/A:1003778125517. S2CID 45206327.

[:1-3] 1 2 von der Emde, Gerhard; Mogdans, Joachim; Kapoor, B. G., eds. (2004). The Senses of Fish. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-1060-3. ISBN 978-94-010-3779-2. S2CID 36978815.

[4] Zhou, Tao; Li, Ning; Jin, Yulin; Zeng, Qifan; Prabowo, Wendy; Liu, Yang; Tian, Changxu; Bao, Lisui; Liu, Shikai; Yuan, Zihao; Fu, Qiang (2018-05-29). "Chemokine C-C motif ligand 33 is a key regulator of teleost fish barbel development". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 115 (22): E5018–E5027. Bibcode:2018PNAS..115E5018Z. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1718603115 . ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 5984497 . PMID 29760055.

[5] Bailey, David M.; Wagner, Hans-Joachim; Jamieson, Alan J.; Ross, Murray F.; Priede, Imants G. (January 2007). "A taste of the deep-sea: The roles of gustatory and tactile searching behaviour in the grenadier fish Coryphaenoides armatus" (PDF). Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. 54 (1): 99–108. Bibcode:2007DSRI...54...99B. doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2006.10.005. ISSN 0967-0637.

[6] McCormick, Mark I. (July 1993). "Development and changes at settlement in the barbel structure of the reef fish, Upeneus tragula (Mullidae)". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 37 (3): 269–282. Bibcode:1993EnvBF..37..269M. doi:10.1007/bf00004634. ISSN 0378-1909. S2CID 34037401.

[7] Freitas Barros Neto, Luciano; Frigo, Rafael Gomes; Gavilan, Simone Almeida; de Moura, Sérgio Adriane Bezerra; Lima, Sergio Maia Queiroz (2019-12-01). "Barbel development associated to aquatic surface respiration in Triportheus signatus (Characiformes: Triportheidae) from the semiarid Caatinga rivers". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 103 (1): 89–98. doi:10.1007/s10641-019-00935-x. ISSN 0378-1909. S2CID 208496992.

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Barbel (zoology)

Contents

Function

Notes

Related Research Articles

References