Mediterranean barbel
(Barbus meridionalis)
Inhabits upper and middle stretches of streams with fast, clear and well-oxygenated water, as well as lowland areas where Barbus barbus is absent A short-lived species found in clear waters over sand and gravel.
Feeds on small invertebrates and (rarely) plants.
Maximum size of about 27 cm SL.
Distribution
Europe: rivers draining to Mediterranean from Besos (near Barcelona, northeastern Spain) to Var (at Nice, southeastern France) drainages, including Rhône as far upriver as Lyon; some headwaters of Garonne basin in Ariège, Tarn and Aveyron (France), apparently native in most, but introduced in at least some upper Tarn localities.
Barbus meridionalis graellsii found in southern France and central and northern Spain is now recognized as species. The Italian populations now recognized as Barbus caninus.
Morphology
Dorsal spines (total): 3 - 4; Dorsal soft rays (total): 7-9; Anal spines: 2-3; Anal soft rays: 5 - 6; Vertebrae: 34 - 35. Diagnosed from other species of Barbus and Luciobarbus in Apennine and Iberian Peninsulas and southern France by the following characters: 44-48 +2 scales on lateral line; 24-28 scale rows around caudal peduncle; head, back, sides and fins with large, irregular black dots; last simple dorsal ray not spinous, flexible, not serrated posteriorly; lower lip thick, with a median swollen pad. Caudal fin with 16-19 rays.
