lean shape underslung mouth
Probably the easiest way to identify a barbel is by its barbules around its mouth. Barbel have four barbules and these allow the fish to taste and touch its way across the river bed in order to locate it's natural food source amongst the gravel and silt. A fisherman suggested the barbel might have been the species of fish likely to have picked up a coin in its mouth (in the Gospels about Jesus). The barbel ate aquatic snails and scavenged in the mud for food. 1 The Latin name for barbel is barbus barbus. 2  They are a river-dwelling species that have also been stocked into stillwaters. 3  The best baits to use are boilies, pellets, luncheon meat, sweetcorn and paste. 4  The current British record barbel stands at 21lb 1oz. Barbel. Identity. The barbel is a perfect river fish with its streamlined body shape. It has is a lean shape underslung mouth, which boasts four barbules – two small ones at the tip of the nose and two longer ones at the sides of the mouth. These feelers help locate food. It has bronze flanks, dark fins and a white underbelly and is known for its fighting qualities. Barbus. The Treur River barb (Barbus treurensis) is a little-known freshwater fish with a spindle-shaped body. It is dusky in appearance with a translucent olive-brown colour on the top and silvery white on the underside. The barbel is recognised by its under slung mouth with thick lips with two short barbules on the top lip and two longer barbules at the corner of its mouth. These barbules have taste and touch cells and help the fish to locate food on the riverbed.
http://hcfishing.com/documents/barbel.html http://dqhall59.com/barbel.htm http://www.fish-on-friday.com/2012/09/barbel/ http://www.baitfactory.co.uk/specimen-guide/barbel http://www.arkive.org/treur-river-barb/barbus-treurensis/ http://www.fish-uk.com/species_barbel.htm
what sort of mouth does barbus barbus have