Luciobarbus, Heckel, 1843

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 228-230

Luciobarbus

Luciobarbus are medium to large fishes that often co-occur with superficially similar Barbus and Capoeta species. Luciobarbus are less rheophilic and prefer more stagnant habitats than sympatric Barbus . In West Asia, all but one Luciobarbus species can be readily distinguished from Barbus species by their uniform yellowish, brown, or grey colouration, sometimes with an indistinct lateral stripe (vs. body and fins covered with distinctive, irregularly shaped spots and blotches), and by the presence of large nuptial tubercles on the snout (vs. very small nuptial tubercles throughout the head). Juveniles of both genera show a pattern of dark-brown blotches on the body and are difficult to distinguish at first sight. Luciobarbus can also be immediately distinguished from Capoeta by the absence of a keratinised lower jaw (vs. present in most species), a long, pointed head (vs. short and roundish), and the presence of two pairs of barbels (vs. usually one pair). Luciobarbus and Capoeta often hybridise. Some Luciobarbus , such as L.pectoralis and L. schejch , show a polymorphic lower lip, with a pendulous central lobe and fleshy lips in some individuals, and an interrupted lower lip with a hard and exposed lower jaw in other individuals, including all intermediate lip shapes. This polymorphism has been misinterpreted as species diagnostic, and individuals with a fleshy lobe on the lower lip have often been identified as L. barbulus (= L. schejch ) throughout West Asia. In contrast, individuals without such a lobe have been identified as L. pectoralis . Both species are strictly allopatric, and both lip forms are found in both species. The lip shape is not variable in other Luciobarbus , such as L. esocinus and L. subquincunciatus . Furthermore, Luciobarbus species exhibit significant allometric growth in body shape and the length and strength of the last unbranched dorsal ray. This has led to some taxonomic confusion, particularly in the Persian Gulf basin.

The identification of Luciobarbus species in the large rivers of the Euphrates and Tigris drainages has only recently been resolved. Luciobarbus esocinus and L. subquincunciatus are two well-differentiated species, L. schejch often hybridises with L. esocinus . Individuals cannot be identified by their COI DNA sequence alone, as they may have their own or the mtDNA of L. esocinus . Fish commonly identified as L. barbulus or L. xanthopterus all belong to L. schejch . The syntypes of L. xanthopterus have been identified as hybrids of L. esocinus and L. schejch , and this name is not available for any of the species. Further reading. Freyhof et al. 2025 (revision).

Luciobarbus esocinus ; Tigris, Türkiye; ~ 1300 mm SL.

Potential hybrid between Luciobarbus esocinus and L. schejch ; Iraq: Shatt-al Arab at Basra. © A. Ali.

Potential hybrid between Luciobarbus esocinus and L. schejch ; Iraq: Baghdad. © O. F. Al-Sheikhly.

Luciobarbus are the target of local fisheries all over their range as here in the upper Tigris in Türkiye. Luciobarbus brachycephalus ; Caspian Sea, Iran; ~ 250 mm SL.