The Taxonomy and Relationships of the African Small Barbs (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae)

Abstract

Through a series of phylogenetic and taxonomic works, the unwieldy and non-monophyletic genus Barbus was reduced to just the typical Barbus of Europe and East Asia and most of the small, African, diploid barbs (‘Barbus'). The genus Enteromius Cope, 1867 was recently elevated to rename most of the small African ‘Barbus'; however, this designation has been controversial. Opponents of this change argue the designation was based on poorly supported phylogenies and state these changes would disrupt currently well-supported monophyletic groups; however, the genus is currently in use, and it is necessary to determine the species that should be recognized as Enteromius. Herein, we present a list of species placed in Enteromius and provide a description of the genus. We list the species of the other small African barbs (Barboides, Barbopsis, Caecobarbus, Clypeobarbus, Pseudobarbus, and ‘Pseudobarbus'). We also contribute 36 cytochrome b sequences of Enteromius to further build an understanding of the phylogenetic relationships among members of this group, and to aid in further taxonomic decisions.