| Barbonymus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Barbonymus schwanenfeldii | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Cyprinidae |
| Subfamily: | Cyprininae |
| Genus: | Barbonymus Kottelat, 1999 [1] |
| Type species | |
| Barbus schwanenfeldii Bleeker, 1853 | |
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 called tinfoil barbs or simply tinfoils (in reference to their reflective, tinfoil-like scales). The new genus was established in recognition of the fact that some large Asian "barbs", formerly rather indiscriminately lumped in Barbus (typical barbels and relatives), Barbodes (barb-like carps) and Puntius (spotted barbs), form a distinct evolutionary lineage.
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They are actually very close relatives of the common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Even though only five species are included at present, it is not certain whether these form a monophyletic lineage; the Java barb (B. gonionotus) for example seems to be very close indeed to Cyclocheilichthys , which unites a number of barb-like "carps". Past hybridization is known widely in Cyprinidae, and confounds molecular and other cladistic studies relying on a single source of data. Altogether the delimitation of the typical carps and allied genera remains still not fully solved. [2] Individual variation of morphology within Barbonymus species is another obstacle in their systematics. [3]
