Dictionary:

barbel¹

  (bär'bəl)

One of the slender, whiskerlike tactile organs extending from the head of certain fishes, such as catfishes. Also called barb.

[Obsolete French, from Old French, from Medieval Latin barbula, diminutive of Late Latin barbus, beard, from Latin barba.]

Any of several Old World freshwater fish of the genus Barbus, especially B. barbus, having four barbels on its upper jaw.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin *barbellus, diminutive of barbus, from Latin barba, beard. See barbel¹.]

Barbus barbus

FAMILY

Cyprinidae

TAXONOMY

Cyprinus barbus Linnaeus, 1758, Europe.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

French: Barbet; German: Barbern.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Size large, usually up to 29.92 in (76 cm) in length. Body long. Snout pointed. Mouth inferior. Lips fleshy. Barbels 2 pairs. Pharyngeal teeth in three rows. Dorsal fin with 4 unbranched, 7–9 branched rays; anal fin with 3 unbranched, 5 branched rays. Lateral line complete, with 56–65 scales. Vertebrae 46–47. Brown-green above, green-yellow lower sides, white-yellow belly. Covered with dark-brown spots.

DISTRIBUTION

West and Central Europe excluding Italian, Greek and Iberian peninsulas.

HABITAT

Deep, fast-flowing upper reaches of rivers with stony or gravel bottoms (barbel zones). Common temperature is 59–71.6°F (15–22°C).

BEHAVIOR

Barbels normally occur in groups of several individuals close to the river bed, but they do not congregate in schools. They migrate in rivers with a home range of 1.24–12.43 mi (2–20 km).

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Feeds chiefly on benthic invertebrates such as small crustaceans, insect larvae, mollusks, mayfly and midge larvae, and small fishes.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Males mature in the fourth year and females in the fifth year of life. After the fish have migrated upriver, spawning occurs from May to July when water temperature is 57.2–68°F (14–20°C) and the bottom is filled with sand and pebbles. Eggs are firmly attached to stones. Fecundity is 8,000–12,000 eggs per kilogram of body weight.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not listed by IUCN.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

An important food fish and sport fish, particularly in Europe.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: slender tactile process on the jaws of a fish
  Synonym: feeler