Barbus microbarbis

Barbus microbarbis is an extinct freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae. She was endemic in the Lake Luhondo in Rwanda.

Features

Barbus microbarbis is known only from the holotype. The specimen has a standard length of 216 mm. The body height is 31 mm, the head length 23.6 mm, the length of the pectoral fin 19.9 mm, length of caudal peduncle 15.7 mm, the height of the caudal peduncle 11.1 mm, the snout length 3.3 mm, width of the mouth 7, 4 mm, eye diameter 5.5 mm and the interorbital distance ( distance between the eyes ) 9.2 mm.

The mouth is inferior. The curved lower jaw has no horny edge. The rear and front barbels are very short. In the inner throat is a row of five teeth. The contour of the pharyngeal bone is gently curved. On the lower branch of the first gill arch gill rakers are 15.

The shed at the rear of the body have parallel stripes on the shoulders are striped rayed. On the lateral line there are 32 rows of scales, the caudal peduncle located twelve. Between the dorsal midline and the lateral line and between the lateral line and the ventral midline are 5 ½ scale rows. Between the lateral line and the base of the pectoral fin are 2 ½ scale rows. The dorsal fin has nine branched and four unbranched rays. The last beam is moderately thickened and ossified to a smooth sting. The anal fin has three unbranched and five branched rays.

The top of the body is dark gray, the underside lighter gray. The scales have a black border.

Status

Barbus microbarbis 2006 was declared extinct by the IUCN. The type had a very limited distribution area of less than 20 km ². The decline of Barbus microbarbis began 1935-1938, as Haplochromis species and young cichlids of the genus Tilapia in Lake Luhondo were exposed. This multiplied so much that they had to 1952 displaced the larger endemic cyprinids, including Barbus microbarbis. In addition, dead many copies as by-catch in the fishing industry.