Barbus barbus
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| Barbus barbus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Barbus barbus is a species of freshwater in the Cyprinidae family of minnows and carps. It shares the common name barbel with its many relatives in the genus Barbus[1][2]
B. barbus is native throughout Europe and China and has become established as an introduced species in Morocco and Italy. Various subspecies are recognised, B. b. bocagei and B. b. sclateri in the Iberian Peninsula and B. b. plebejus in Italy.
The fish is suited to fast flowing waters, adult size is up to 1.2 m (4 ft) in length and 12 kg (26 lb) in weight, although it is typically found smaller (50–100 cm length, weight 1–3 kg)[3]. It is slightly laterally compressed, lacks an adipose fin, has a dark brown or grey mottled appearance, the underside is light coloured, and the fins have a reddish tinge.
B. barbus is benthopelagic, meaning they are found at the bottom of rivers as well as in open water. They are typically found feeding in deeper areas of rivers with a rocky or gravel bottom. Feeding is on benthic organisms, including crustaceans, insect larvae and mollusks.
B. barbus plays a minor role in commercial aquaculture, however they are popular sport fish. In the UK it reaches a size of up to 21 pounds, with anything of more than 7 pounds considered to be of specimen size.[citation needed] Famous barbel rivers include the Hampshire Avon, the Kennet, the Great Ouse, and more recently the Severn and the Teme, where the barbel was not native but has thrived after its introduction.
Male become mature after 3-4 years, females after 5-8 years, spawning occurs after upriver migration during May, June and July and 8,000 to 12,000 eggs are produced per kilogram of bodyweight.[3] The eggs are poisonous.
The name derives from "barb" giving rise to both the Scientific and Common names, B. barbus has of course, excellent examples of barbels. In English folklore the barbel was once called the pigfish.[3]
[edit] External links
- Fact sheet, taxonomic details, distribution maps, slideshow, and images of Barbus barbus at ZipcodeZoo.com.
- Photos from Fishbase
[edit] References
- ^ Common Names of Barbus barbus (June 2006).
- ^ "Barbus barbus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. March 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
- ^ a b c Stephen Gledhill (2006). Barbel Homepage. The Environment Agency.
