Arabibarbus

Freyhof, Jörg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 90

Arabibarbus

A genus of three very large ( A. grypus ) to medium-sized species endemic to West Asia. These are hexaploid barbels of the yellowfish (Torini) group, distinguished by large, shield-shaped scales with numerous parallel radii. The last unbranched dorsal ray is weakly to strongly ossified, without serrae.They have two pairs of barbels,8½ branched dorsal rays, and 5½ branched anal rays. Their phylogenetic position has long been uncertain, but most authors categorised them in Barbus , as no alternative was available. One species, A. grypus , occurs in the Persian Gulf basin. Some authors have placed it in the Asian genus Tor . However, it has only recently become clear that these three species belong together, and with Carasobarbus , Mesopotamichthys , and Ptercapoeta form the sister group of the large African genus Labeobarbus . Both Arabian species are superficially similar but allopatric, and the molecular characters studied suggest that they have a long, isolated evolutionary history.

Further reading. Borkenhagen 2014 (description, phylogeny); Yang et al. 2015; Borkenhagen 2017 (phylogeny).

Key to species of Arabibarbus

1a - Body cylindrical; last unbranched dorsal ray weakly ossified; posterior barbel length 4−6 % SL; 29−36, usually 30−35, total lateral-line scales. ……………… A. grypus

1b - Body laterally compressed; last unbranched dorsal ray strongly ossified; posterior barbel length 7−12 % SL; 32−44, usually 35−41, total lateral-line scales. ………………2

2a - 29–36, usually 32−35, total lateral-line scales; head depth 14–17 % SL; pectoral length 18–22 % SL; pelvic length 15–19 % SL; head length 24–31 % SL. ……………… A. arabicus

2b - 29–32, usually 30–31, total lateral-line scales; head depth 16–18 % SL; pectoral length 20–24 % SL; pelvic length 17–20 % SL; head length 28–33 % SL. ……………… A. hadhrami