Barbonymus is a ray-finned fish genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Cyprinidae, containing some barb species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

. The genus was only established in 1999, with the Tinfoil Barb

Tinfoil barb

The Tinfoil Barb is a tropical Southeast Asian freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae. This species was originally described as Barbus schwanenfeldii by Pieter Bleeker in 1853, and has also been placed in the genera Barbodes and Puntius...

 (B. schwanenfeldii) as type species

Type species

In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...

; thus, these fish are sometimes collectively called tinfoils. The new genus was established in recognition of the fact that some large Asian "barbs", formerly rather indiscriminately lumped in Barbus

Barbus

Barbus is a ray-finned fish genus in the family Cyprinidae. The type species of Barbus is the Common Barbel, first described as Cyprinus barbus and now named Barbus barbus...

(typical barbels and relatives), Barbodes

Barbodes

Barbodes is a genus of cyprinid fish, consisting of 11 species. The name is derived from the Latin word barbus, meaning "barbel", and the Greek word oides, meaning "similar to".- Species :* Barbodes belinka...

(barb-like carps) and Puntius

Puntius

Puntius is a genus of ray-finned fishes in the family Cyprinidae of the order Cypriniformes. Fishes of this genus are known as the spotted barbs for the predominant pattern, though many have vertical black bands instead. Also, the Spotted Barb proper is one particular species, Puntius binotatus....

(spotted barbs), form a distinct evolution

Evolution

Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...

ary lineage.
They are actually very close relatives of the Common Carp

Common carp

The Common carp is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia. The wild populations are considered vulnerable to extinction, but the species has also been domesticated and introduced into environments worldwide, and is often considered an invasive...

 (Cyprinus carpio). Even though only five species are included at present, it is not certain whether these form a monophyletic lineage; the Java Barb

Java Barb

The Java Barb, more commonly known as Silver Barb in aquaculture, , Pla taphian; Lao Pa keng; , is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Barbonymus.-Aquaculture:...

 (B. gonionotus) for example seems to be very close indeed to Cyclocheilichthys

Cyclocheilichthys

Cyclocheilichthys is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae.- Species :* Cyclocheilichthys apogon * Cyclocheilichthys armatus...

, which unites a number of barb-like "carp

Carp

Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...

s". Past hybridization is known widely in Cyprinidae, and confounds molecular and other cladistic studies relying on a single source of data. Altogether the delimitation of the typical carps and allied genera remains still not fully solved.

Species

• Barbonymus altus (Günther, 1868) (Red-tailed Tinfoil)
• Barbonymus balleroides (Valenciennes
  Achille Valenciennes
  Achille Valenciennes was a French zoologist.Valenciennes was born in Paris, and studied under Georges Cuvier. Valenciennes' study of parasitic worms in humans made an important contribution to the study of parasitology...
  
  , 1842)
• Barbonymus collingwoodii
  Barbonymus collingwoodii
  Barbonymus collingwoodii is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Barbonymus....
  
  (Günther, 1868)
• Barbonymus gonionotus (Bleeker
  Pieter Bleeker
  Pieter Bleeker was a Dutch medical doctor and ichthyologist, famous for his work on the fishes of East Asia – Atlas Ichthyologique des Orientales Neerlandaises – which was published 1862–1877....
  
  , 1850) (Java Barb)
• Barbonymus schwanenfeldii (Bleeker
  Pieter Bleeker
  Pieter Bleeker was a Dutch medical doctor and ichthyologist, famous for his work on the fishes of East Asia – Atlas Ichthyologique des Orientales Neerlandaises – which was published 1862–1877....
  
  , 1853) (Tinfoil Barb)