CreatureData

Common barbel

Barbus barbus (Linnaeus, 1758)

LCLeast Concernbony fish

The common barbel (Barbus barbus), also called barbel, is a bony fish in the family Cyprinidae and subfamily Barbinae. It belongs to the genus Barbus in the order Cypriniformes and the class Teleostei, and was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).

Common barbel (Barbus barbus)
Photo: Neil Phillips from uk · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the common barbel

The IUCN Red List global assessment lists it as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
freshwatersrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Photos of the common barbel

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Common barbel (Barbus barbus)
Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common barbel (Barbus barbus)
Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common barbel (Barbus barbus)
Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common barbel (Barbus barbus)
Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common barbel (Barbus barbus)
Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common barbel (Barbus barbus)
Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common barbel (Barbus barbus)
Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Common barbel (Barbus barbus)
Sven.petersen · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the common barbel live?

Not recorded

What is the common barbel?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The common barbel (Barbus barbus) is a species of freshwater fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae. It shares the common name 'barbel' with its many relatives in the genus Barbus, of which it is the type species. In Great Britain it is usually referred to simply as the barbel; similar names are used elsewhere in Europe, such as barbeau in France and flodbarb in Sweden. The name derives from the four whiskerlike structures located at the corners of the fish's mouth, which it uses to locate food.

From the Wikipedia article “Common barbel” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_barbel&oldid=1369168527), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the common barbel endangered?

The common barbel is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the common barbel classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classTeleostei
  4. orderCypriniformes
  5. familyCyprinidae
  6. genusBarbus
  7. SpeciesBarbus barbus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms Barbus barbus barbus, Barbus barbus borysthenicus, Barbus barbus gallicus, Barbus communis, Barbus communis, Barbus fluviatilis, Barbus fluviatilis alba, Barbus fluviatilis aurata, Barbus fluviatilis aurata, Barbus fluviatilis tyrasensis, Barbus fluviatilis var. alba, Barbus fluviatilis var. aurata, Barbus fluviatilis var. aurata, Barbus fluviatilis var. tyrasensis, Barbus mayori, Barbus microphthalmus, Barbus vulgaris, Cyprinus barba, Cyprinus barbus

Other names and names in other languages (68)
  • BarbelEnglish
  • BarbelEnglish
  • BarbelEnglish
  • بني أصفرArabic
  • بربل شائعArabic
  • Bárbol comúnAragonese
  • ВусачBelarusian
  • bialaBulgarian
  • Бяла мрянаBulgarian
  • Обикновена мрянаBulgarian
  • Обикновена бяла дунавска мрянаBulgarian
  • byala mryanaBulgarian
  • dunavskaBulgarian
  • obiknovenа mryanаBulgarian
  • rechna mrianaBulgarian
  • Barb comúCatalan
  • Parma obecnáCzech
  • barfogynWelsh
  • BarfogiaidWelsh
  • flodbarbeDanish
  • BarbeGerman
  • BarbernGerman
  • FlussbarbeGerman
  • LotusbarbeGerman
  • ParmeGerman
  • PiggeGerman
  • barba comúnSpanish
  • Barbo Común EuropeoSpanish
  • barbo de rioSpanish
  • barbo de ríoSpanish
  • JokibarbiFinnish
  • barbuFrench
  • barbeauFrench
  • Barbeau communFrench
  • barbeau fluviatileFrench
  • barbelFrench
  • barbetFrench
  • barbillonFrench
  • barbotFrench
  • drenekFrench
  • ביניתHebrew
  • MárnaHungarian
  • barboItalian
  • barbo europeoItalian
  • Barbus barbusItalian
  • バーベルJapanese
  • წვერაGeorgian
  • 수염잉어Korean
  • paprastasis ūsoriusLithuanian
  • МренаMacedonian
  • barbeelDutch
  • BàrbioePicard
  • brzanaPolish
  • Brzana pospolitaPolish
  • BarbesoPortuguese
  • mreanăRomanian
  • обыкновенный усачRussian
  • mrena severnáSlovak
  • mrenaSlovenian
  • Navadna mrenaSlovenian
  • МренaSerbian
  • flodbarbSwedish
  • bayağI bıyıklı balıkTurkish
  • bayağı bıyıklı balıkTurkish
  • МаренаUkrainian
  • Вусач звичайнийUkrainian
  • Марена звичайнаUkrainian
  • BårbeaWalloon

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the common barbel

Other species in the same genus Barbus.

CompareCommon barbel vs Italian barbelCommon barbel vs Southern barbelCommon barbel vs Romanian barbelCommon barbel vs Brook barbel

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

What kind of animal is the common barbel?

The common barbel is a bony fish. It belongs to the family Cyprinidae in the order Cypriniformes.

What is the scientific name of the common barbel?

Its scientific name is Barbus barbus, and it is placed in the genus Barbus.

Who named the common barbel and when?

The species name Barbus barbus carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758).

Is the common barbel endangered?

No. The IUCN Red List global assessment lists it as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.

What other names does the common barbel have?

The common barbel is also called barbel in English.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Common barbel (Barbus barbus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-barbel

MLA

“Common barbel (Barbus barbus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-barbel.

BibTeX
@misc{common_barbel_2026,
  title = {Common barbel (Barbus barbus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-barbel},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}