Pseudobarbus

Pseudobarbus
Burchell's redfin (Pseudobarbus burchelli) from the Breede catchment
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Subfamily: Smiliogastrinae
Genus: Pseudobarbus
A. Smith, 1841
Type species
Barbus burchelli
A. Smith, 1841[1]
Species

11 species, see text

Synonyms[1]

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

This genus is restricted to southern Africa; all of its species were formerly placed in Barbus, the genus of typical barbels and their relatives. One taxon was originally described as P. leonhardi – this, however, was a European fish for which the genus was erroneously proposed anew. It has since turned out to be nothing other than the barbel B. peloponnesius.

Species and systematics

Pseudobarbus was placed in the paraphyletic "subfamily" Barbinae by those that recognize that group, but if not included in the Cyprininae outright it might – like the other small African barbs – belong to an as yet unnamed subfamily.[2]

Pseudobarbus contains the following species:[3]

Some South African "redfin" barb were previously placed in Barbus, mainly due to a lack of taxonomic and systematic study of that huge "wastebin genus". They formed a clade distinct from the traditional Pseudobarbus and were more plesiomorphic. Certainly, they did not belong in the typical barbel:[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Smiliogastrinae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  2. ^ a b 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)
  3. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Pseudobarbus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 11 January 2025.

Further reading