Barbel (anatomy)

In fish anatomy and turtle anatomy, a barbel is a slender, whiskerlike sensory organ near the mouth. Fish with barbels include the catfish, carp, goatfish, hagfish, sturgeons, zebrafish, the black dragonfish and some sharks like sawsharks. The word "barbel" comes from the Latin barbula, for "little beard." Barbels are erroneously called barbs, which are found in feathers.

Kois have two pairs of barbels.

Barbels can be found on various places, like the head of a fish. "Maxillary barbels" refers to barbels on either side of the mouth. Barbels may also be nasal, extending from the nostrils. Also, barbels are often mandibular or mental, being located on the chin.

Uses

Barbels are used to help in the accession of water. They also have unique uses in other fish. For example, Coryphaenoides armatus uses their barbels to find the cadavers of dead sea creatures.

Gallery

This fish (a yellowfin croaker) has barbels on its chin.

This pallid sturgeon has long barbels.

References

1. Fadaee, B., Pourkazemi, M., Tavakoli, M., Joushideh, H., Khoshghalb, M. R. B., Hosseini, M. R. and Abdulhay, H. (2006). "Tagging and tracking juvenile sturgeons in shallow waters of the Caspian Sea (less than 10 m depth) using CWT (Coded Wire Tags) and barbel incision". Journal of Applied Ichthyology. 22: 160–165.
2. Bailey, David M.; Wagner, Hans-Joachim; Jamieson, Alan J.; Ross, Murray F.; Priede, Imants G. (2007). "A taste of the deep-sea: The roles of gustatory and tactile searching behaviour in the grenadier fish Coryphaenoides armatus" (PDF). Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers.