Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Aral barbel (Luciobarbus brachycephalus), recorded as Endangered
Aral barbel (Luciobarbus brachycephalus). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Endangered

Aral barbel

Luciobarbus brachycephalus

Aral barbel is a minnow in the family Cyprinidae (order Cypriniformes) — Luciobarbus brachycephalus, recorded as Endangered.

Status
Endangered
Scientific name
Luciobarbus brachycephalus
Taxonomy
Cypriniformes · Cyprinidae · Luciobarbus

The minnow

It reaches a maximum length of 90 cm (35 in), with an average of 62 cm (24 in)–64 cm (25 in).

Range and habitat

It is found in the Aral basin, Chu drainage and southern and western Caspian Sea. It was formerly found in the Volga River system in South European Russia, but this population was extirpated during the mid-20th century.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Breeding

For spawning, it migrates up to larger tributaries of the western and southern coasts. It is popular as an aquarium fish, especially the albino variety, that is often kept as a tank mate with the Asian arowana.

In crisis

Aral barbel is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Aral barbel, Wikidata item Q740172. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

Same genus

Photograph of Mesopotamian barbel (Luciobarbus subquincunciatus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Mesopotamian barbel

Luciobarbus subquincunciatus
Photograph of Vaquita (Phocoena sinus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Vaquita

Phocoena sinus
Photograph of Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Javan rhinoceros

Rhinoceros sondaicus
Photograph of Sumatran orangutan (Pongo abelii), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

Sumatran orangutan

Pongo abelii

Quick answers

What is Aral barbel?
Aral barbel is a minnow in the family Cyprinidae (order Cypriniformes) — Luciobarbus brachycephalus.
What is the conservation status of Aral barbel?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Luciobarbus brachycephalus. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Aral barbel live?
It was formerly found in the Volga River system in South European Russia, but this population was extirpated during the mid-20th century.
Why is Aral barbel in crisis?
It was formerly found in the Volga River system in South European Russia, but this population was extirpated during the mid-20th century.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Luciobarbus brachycephalus?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Aral barbel a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.