Lizard barbel

The lizard barbel^[1] (Barbus lacerta), also known as Kura barbel,^[3] is a species of freshwater cyprinid fish from the Near East region. Kosswig's barbel is now a synonym, which also places the species in the Tigris–Euphrates river system of the Middle east.

Lizard barbel
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Cypriniformes
Family:	Cyprinidae
Subfamily:	Barbinae
Genus:	Barbus
Species:	B. lacerta
Binomial name
Barbus lacerta Heckel, 1843
Synonyms[2]
Barbus caucasius Kessler, 1877 Barbus ercisianus Karaman, 1971 Barbus plebejus ercisianus Karaman, 1971 Barbus plebejus kosswigi Karaman, 1971 Barbus scincus Heckel, 1843 Luciobarbus kosswigi (Karaman, 1971)

The specific epithet lacerta is Latin for lizard, but the allusion was not explained by Heckel.^[4]

Subspecies

The species is monotypic, with no subspecies accepted as valid. However, two former subspecies have been elevated to full species status:^[2]

• B. l. cyri De Filippi, 1865, accepted as Barbus cyri
• B. l. escherichii Steindachner, 1897 accepted as Luciobarbus escherichii