Luciobarbus brachycephalus (Kessler, 1872)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Aral barbel (Luciobarbus brachycephalus) is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Luciobarbus. It is found in the Aral basin, Chu drainage and southern and western Caspian Sea. For spawning, it migrates up to larger tributaries of the western and southern coasts.
It was formerly found in the Volga River system in South European Russia, but this population was extirpated during the mid-20th century.
It reaches a maximum length of 90 cm (35 in), with an average of 62 cm (24 in)–64 cm (25 in). It is popular as an aquarium fish, especially the albino variety, which is often kept as a tank mate with the Asian arowana. In the aquarium trade, it is marketed as the "Lucky Dragon" to align with the belief that the Asian arowana, or "dragon fish," brings good fortune and prosperity to its owner.
Wikipedia contributors, Aral barbel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:05:06.660654+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Luciobarbus brachycephalus (Kessler, 1872)
- Name authority
- (Kessler, 1872)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cypriniformes
- Family
- Cyprinidae
- Genus
- Luciobarbus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCypriniformes
- familyCyprinidae Rafinesque, 1815
- subfamilyBarbinae Bleeker, 1859
- genusLuciobarbus Heckel, 1843
- speciesLuciobarbus brachycephalus (Kessler, 1872)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Luciobarbus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Luciobarbus albanicus (Steindachner, 1870) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Luciobarbus callensis (Valenciennes, 1842) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Luciobarbus caspius (Berg, 1914) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Luciobarbus escherichii (Steindachner, 1897) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Luciobarbus kersin (Heckel, 1843) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Luciobarbus kottelati Turan, Ekmekçi, Ilhan & Engin, 2008 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Luciobarbus leptopogon (Schimper, 1834) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Luciobarbus magniatlantis (Pellegrin, 1919) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Luciobarbus mursa (Güldenstädt, 1773) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Luciobarbus mystaceus (Pallas, 1814) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Luciobarbus nasus (Günther, 1874) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Luciobarbus pallaryi (Pellegrin, 1919) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Barbus brachycephalus Kessler, 1872 Kessler, 1872 | synonym |
| Barbus obtusirostris Yakovlev, 1870 Yakovlev, 1870 | ambiguous synonym |
| Barbus brachycephalus brachycephalus Kessler, 1872 Kessler, 1872 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1020554 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3WCK5. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.