Hemibarbus labeo (PALLAS, 1776)

Barbel Steed

SynonymsTop ↑

Cyprinus labeo Pallas, 1776; Gobio barbus Temminck & Schlegel, 1846; Barbus schlegelii Günther, 1868; Acanthogobio oxyrhynchus Nikolski, 1904; Pseudogobio chaoi Evermann & Shaw, 1927; Hemibarbus longianalis Kimura, 1934

Etymology

Hemibarbus: from the Ancient Greek ἡμι- (hēmi-), meaning ‘half’, and the generic name Barbus, to which members appear similar.

labeo: from the Latin labeo, meaning ‘one with lips’.

Classification

Order: Cypriniformes Family: Cyprinidae

Distribution

Widepread in eastern Asia between the Yangtze and Amur river basins, including China, Taiwan, Korea, Mongolia, Russia, and Japan. May have been introduced to the Mekong basin in Laos.

Type locality is ‘Transbaikalia, Dauria; Onon River, Russia [Upper Amur River]’.

Habitat

Predominantly a riverine fish preferring clear, well-oxygenated, running waters with substrates of sand, gravel, rock or mud, where adults tend to form schools just above the substrate.

At least some populations undergo annual spawning migrations.

Maximum Standard Length

300 – 450 mm.

Diet

Wild individuals are known to feed on benthic crustaceans, insects, molluscs, and other macroinvertebrates.

Sexual Dimorphism

Sexually mature, nuptial males develop fine tubercules on the head and fins.

NotesTop ↑

This species can be distinguished from other members of the genus by the following combination of characters: absence of dark spots on body in adults; body elongate with slightly convex dorsal profile; head longer than body is deep;  snout much longer than postorbital head length; lips well developed, lateral lobes of lower lip broad and thick with folds, median process small; barbel thickness shorter or equal to eye diameter; dorsal spine strong, ⅔ of HL; dorsal-fin origin closer to tip of snout than caudal-fin base base; 15+ gill rakers; 6½ branched anal-fin rays; posterior simple dorsal-fin rays ossified and spinous.

References

1. Pallas, P. S., 1776 - Kayserlichen Academie der Wissenschaften, St. Petersburg,: 1-454
   Reise durch verschiedene Provinzen des Russischen Reichs. Dritter Theil. Vom Jahr 1772 und 1773.
2. Bogutskaya, N. G. , A. M. Naseka, S. V. Shedko, E. D. Vasil'eva and I. A. Chereshnev, 2008 - Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 19(4): 301-366
   The fishes of the Amur River: updated check-list and zoogeography.
3. Ho, H.-C. and K.-T. Shao, 2011 - Zootaxa 2957: 1-74
   Annotated checklist and type catalog of fish genera and species described from Taiwan.
4. Kottelat, M., 2013 - Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 27: 1-663
   The fishes of the inland waters of southeast Asia: a catalogue and core bibiography of the fishes known to occur in freshwaters, mangroves and estuaries.
5. Kottelat, M., 2006 - The World Bank. Washington, DC.: i-xi + 1-103
   Fishes of Mongolia. A check-list of the fishes known to occur in Mongolia with comments on systematics and nomenclature.
6. Kottelat, M., 2001 - WHT Publications, Colombo: 1-198
   Fishes of Laos.
7. Lin, C-J., H-D. Lin, J-P. Wang, S-C. Chao and T-Y. Chiang, 2010 - Zoologica Scripta 39(1): 22-35
   Phylogeography of Hemibarbus labeo (Cyprinidae): secondary contact of ancient lineages of mtDNA.
8. Yue, P. Q., 1995 - Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica 20(1): 116-123
   A revision of the cyprinid fishes of the genus Hemibarbus in China (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae).