Luciobarbus graecus

Luciobarbus graecus
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Cypriniformes
Family:	Cyprinidae
Subfamily:	Barbinae
Genus:	Luciobarbus
Species:	L. graecus
Binomial name
Luciobarbus graecus Steindachner, 1896
Synonyms [1]
Barbus graceusSteindachner, 1895( lapsus ) Barbus graecusSteindachner, 1896 Messinobarbus carottaeBianco, 1998 (p.p.)

Luciobarbus graecus is a ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. It is here placed in Luciobarbus following the IUCN, but that genus is very closely related to the other typical barbels and perhaps better considered a mere subgenus of Barbus . Found in and adjacent to Greece, its closest living relative seems to be L. lydianus , which is found in the northwest of Asia Minor. ^{[2] [1]}

It is a large barbel and can grow to almost 70 cm (28 in) long, though a typical adult is much smaller, at 10 to 20 cm (3.9 to 7.9 in) standard length. The lateral line extends along the whole body, which is rather large-scaled, with usually 45 to 46 scales along the lateral line, 8 rows above it and 6 rows below. The pectoral fins usually have 17 fin rays. Its fins tend to be larger on average than in its relatives, and the anal fin usually begins somewhat closer to the fairly blunt (for a Luciobarbus ) snout. Its eyes are large and the head is high and narrow by the standards of its genus. Like its relatives, it has four barbels, but these are slightly shorter on average than in its relatives. Unlike in L. lydianus, its lips are not markedly swollen and of equal size; it also lacks the black spot at the root of each body scale, but has a rather prominent black rim to each body scale. It is otherwise unmarked greyish-brown above, on the sides and on most fins, and pale yellowish below and on the ventral and anal fins. ^{[3] [1]}

This species mainly occurs in Greece, but its range barely seems to extend into Albania. It is found in the Spercheios River drainage basin. It also occurs in the Cephissus River ^{[ verification needed ]} and in Lake Yliki. This latter lacustrine population was redescribed in 1998 as Messinobarbus carottae . ^[4] In former times it was found in Lake Paralimni, but this has been drained. It inhabits lakes and slow-moving rivers. Spawning occurs in June over sandy ground. ^[1]

Only found in a limited area, its stocks have declined significantly due to habitat destruction and overuse of water for agriculture, water pollution, and overfishing. It is protected by law, but enforcement is considered inefficient. The species is classified as Endangered by the IUCN. ^[1]

References

1. Crivelli, A.J. (2006). "Luciobarbus graecus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2006: e.T60805A12409922. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2006.RLTS.T60805A12409922.en . Retrieved 15 November 2021.
2. de Graaf et al. (2007), Almodóvar et al. (2008)
3. Turan et al. (2008)
4. Bianco, P.G. (1998). "Diversity of Barbinae fishes in southern Europe with description of a new genus and a new species (Cyprinidae)". Italian Journal of Zoology. 65 (1): 125–136. doi:10.1080/11250009809386804.

• Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2006). "Luciobarbus graecus" in FishBase . April 2006 version.
• Almodóvar, Ana; Nicola, Graciela G. & Elvira, Benigno (2008): Natural hybridization of Barbus bocagei x Barbus comizo (Cyprinidae) in Tagus River basin, central Spain [English with French abstract]. Cybium32(2): 99-102. PDF fulltext
• de Graaf, Martin; Megens, Hendrik-Jan; Samallo, Johannis & Sibbing, Ferdinand A. (2007): Evolutionary origin of Lake Tana's (Ethiopia) small Barbus species: indications of rapid ecological divergence and speciation. Anim. Biol. 57(1): 39–48. doi : 10.1163/157075607780002069 (HTML abstract)
• Turan, Davut; Ekmekçi, F. Güler; Ilhan, Ali & Engin, Semih (2008): Luciobarbus kottelati, a new species of barbel (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) from the Büyük Menderes River, Turkey, with rediagnose of L. lydianus. Zootaxa 1824: 35–44. Abstract and first page text