Barbus

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Barbus
Barbe Tiergarten Schoenbrunn.jpg
Barbus barbus
Cyprinidae - Barbus plebejus.JPG
Barbus plebejus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Subfamily: Barbinae
Genus: Barbus
Daudin, 1805 [1] [2]
Type species
Cyprinus 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 Barbinae, but given their relationships, that taxon is better included in the Cyprininae at least for the largest part (including the type species of Barbus).

Contents

Description and uses

Their common names barbs and barbels refer to the fact that most members of the genera have a pair of barbels 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 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 fish. Some are quite significant, but as a whole, the genus is not yet as well represented in aquaria as the Southeast Asian Puntius . [3]

Systematics and taxonomy

Barbus has a long history as a "wastebasket taxon". 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 , Barbichthys , Barbodes , Barboides , Barbonymus , Barbopsis , Caecobarbus , Capoeta , Carasobarbus , Clypeobarbus , Enteromius , Hypselobarbus , Hypsibarbus , Labeobarbus , Leptobarbus , Luciobarbus , Mesopotamichthys , Poropuntius , Probarbus , Pseudobarbus , Puntioplites and Puntius . [4]

Thus, Barbus is for the time being restricted to the typical barbels and barbs', and only contains fishes from Africa and Europe, as well as adjacent Asia. However, the genus even in the reduced version is probably paraphyletic, 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". Luciobarbus and particularly Messinobarbus 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. Carasobarbus and Labeobarbus are probably closely related to this group, too, and some large hexaploid barbs (e.g. L. reinii ) may well belong in Labeobarbus.[ citation needed ]

The small barbs from Africa, by contrast, are quite distinct. They might even warrant establishment of a new subfamily in particular if the Labeoninae are not included in the Cyprininae , as they seem to be as distinct from barbels and typical carps, as these are from the garras (which are part of the disputed Labeoninae), rendering the old "Barbinae" paraphyletic. Within the small African barbs, several lineages can be recognized. These are mostly diploid; a tetraploid group largely restricted to southern Africa is very close to Pseudobarbus and might even be included therein. In particular, the group called "redfins" may well be monophyletic and belong in Pseudobarbus entirely, instead of being split between Pseudobarbus and Barbus.[ citation needed ]

Species

Fossil species

A fossil species ( Barbus megacephalus Günther, 1876) is known from the Paleogene Sipang Fauna of Indonesia., [6] but it probably should be placed in another genus.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyprinidae</span> Family of freshwater fish

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 the largest vertebrate animal family overall, with about 3,000 species; only 1,270 of these remain extant, divided into about 200 valid genera. Cyprinids range from about 12 mm (0.5 in) in size to the 3 m (9.8 ft) giant barb. By genus and species count, the family makes up more than two-thirds of the ostariophysian order Cypriniformes. The family name is derived from the Greek word kyprînos.

<i>Puntius</i> Genus of fishes

Puntius is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae native to South Asia and Mainland Southeast Asia, as well as Taiwan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbel (fish)</span> Freshwater fish

Barbels are group of carp-like freshwater fish, almost all of the genus Barbus. They are usually found in gravel and rocky-bottomed moderate-flowing rivers with high dissolved oxygen content, known as the Barbel zone. A typical adult barbel can range from 25 to 240 cm in length and weigh between 200 g (7.1 oz) and 200 kg (440 lb), depending on species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barb (fish)</span> Group of fishes

A barb is one of various ray-finned fish species in a non-phylogenetic group, with members in the family Cyprinidae, and especially the genera Barbus and Puntius, but many others also. They were formerly united with the barbels in the subfamily Barbinae but that group is paraphyletic with the Cyprininae. If the Labeoninae are recognized as distinct, many small African "barbs" would probably, however, warrant recognition as a new subfamily.

<i>Labeo</i> Genus of fishes

Labeo is a genus of carps in the family Cyprinidae. They are found in freshwater habitats in the tropics and subtropics of Africa and Asia.

<i>Pseudobarbus</i> Genus of fishes

Pseudobarbus is a ray-finned fish genus in the family Cyprinidae. The type species is Burchell's redfin. The scientific name is derived from the Ancient Greek pseudes ("false") and the Latin word barbus. This genus contains some of the South African redfins. It was originally proposed as a subgenus, but has since been found worthy of recognition as a full genus.

<i>Schizothorax</i> Genus of fishes

Schizothorax is a genus of cyprinid fish found in southern and western China, through northern South Asia (Himalaya) and Central Asia, to Iran, with a single species, S. prophylax, in Turkey. They are primarily found in highland rivers, streams and lakes, although a few species occur in lower-lying locations, like Lake Balkhash and lakes of the Sistan Basin. Their scientific name means "cloven-breast", from Ancient Greek schízeïn (σχίζειν) 'to cleave' and thórax (θώραξ) 'breast-plate'. The western species are typically referred to as marinkas from their Russian name marinka (маринка), while the eastern species are usually called snowtrout. Although they do resemble trouts in habitus this is merely due to convergent evolution and they are by no means closely related apart from both being Teleostei: Cyprinids are in the teleost superorder Ostariophysi, while trouts are in the superorder Protacanthopterygii. Their ancestors must thus have diverged as early as the Triassic, more than 200 million years ago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ripon barbel</span> Species of fish

The Ripon barbel is an East African ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. A notably large barb, its maximum recorded total length is 90 cm (35 in).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Algerian barb</span> Species of fish

The Algerian barb or Tunisian barb, is a ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. It is found in Algeria and Tunisia.

Barbus figuigensis is a doubtfully distinct ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae.

<i>Labeobarbus intermedius</i> Species of fish

Labeobarbus intermedius is an East African ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. Like the closely related yellowfish, it is hexaploid. A large species, the maximum recorded standard length is nearly 50 cm (20 in). This species has a subspecies named Labeobarbus intermedius intermedius.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giant Atlas barbel</span> Species of fish


The giant Atlas barbel was a ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. It is now thought to be extinct.

Squalius is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae found in Europe and Asia. Hybridization is not rare in the Cyprinidae, including this genus. S. alburnoides is known to be of ancient hybrid origin, with the paternal lineage deriving from a prehistoric species related to Anaecypris; the latter mated with ancestral S. pyrenaicus. Present-day S. alburnoides mates with sympatric congeners of other species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Labeoninae</span> Subfamily of fishes

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 elsewhere in Asia, and some members of Garra and Labeo are from Africa. They are a generally very apomorphic group, perhaps the most "advanced" of the Cyprinidae. A common name for these fishes is labeonins or labeoins.

<i>Carasobarbus</i> Genus of fishes

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 66 cm (26 in) in total length, but most other species are up to around half or one-quarter of that size.

<i>Labeobarbus</i> Genus of fishes

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 southern species, is yellowfish. The scientific name refers to the fact that these large barbs recall the fairly closely related "carps" in the genus Labeo in size and shape. As far as can be told, all Labeobarbus species are hexaploid. One species, L. microbarbis from Rwanda, is known to have gone extinct in recent times.

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. Several species in the genus are threatened. Most species are fairly small to medium-sized cyprinids, but the genus also includes several members that can surpass 1 m (3.3 ft) in length and the largest, the mangar can reach 2.3 m (7.5 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbinae</span> Subfamily of fishes

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 member of the family, and may be included here, while others may be moved to other subfamilies.

<i>Enteromius ablabes</i> Species of fish

Enteromius ablabes is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Enteromius. It occurs in West Africa from the Sahel to the coast between Guinea and Nigeria, south to the central Congo Basin. The relationship of E. ablabes to other Enteromius is uncertain. Tsigenopoulos et al. (2002) found it to be sister to E. macrops. Yang et al. (2015) using the same sequence found it to be sister to E. anema, and Hayes et al. (2017) found the Tsigenopoulos et al. specimen to be sister to E. anema + E. cf. guildi and newly sequenced specimens from Guinea to be sister to be in a clade with a specimen of E. punctitaeniatus and that clade sister to E. bigornei and E. foutensis. The Tsigenopoulos et al. specimen is from Ivory Coast, but a catalog number is not provided to check identity. Enteromius punctitaeniatus is a species very similar in appearance to E. ablabes, differing by having 9 circumpeduncular scales vs. 12. Enteromius ablabes is likely polymorphic with one species already described from within it. This description conforms to the current hypothesis on the identity of E. ablabes; however, the species will need to be examined in greater detail to determine if there are multiple species present.

The lizard barbel, also known as Kura barbel, is a species of freshwater cyprinid fish from the Near East region. Kosswig's barbel is now a synonym, which also places the species in the Tigris–Euphrates river system of the Middle east.

References

  1. Skelton, P. H., Swartz, E. R., & Vreven, E. J. (2018). The identity of Barbus capensis Smith, 1841 and the generic status of southern African tetraploid cyprinids (Teleostei, Cyprinidae). European Journal of Taxonomy, (410). https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2018.410
  2. Englmaier GK, Tesfaye G, Bogutskaya NG (2020) A new species of Enteromius (Actinopterygii, Cyprinidae, Smiliogastrinae) from the Awash River, Ethiopia, and the re-establishment of E. akakianus. ZooKeys 902: 107-150. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.902.39606
  3. Lambert, D.J. (1997): Freshwater Aquarium Fish. Chartwell Books, Edison, New Jersey, USA. ISBN   0-7858-0867-1
  4. 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.
  5. Antal, L., László, B., Kotlík, P., Mozsár, A., Czeglédi, I., Oldal, M., Kemenesi, G., Jakab, F. & Nagy, S.A. (2015): Phylogenetic evidence for a new species of Barbus in the Danube River basin. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 96: 187–194.
  6. Woodward, A.S. (1901). Catalogue of the Fossil Fishes in the British Museum (Natural History). order of the Trustees. p.  302. barbus megacephalus.