Genus Enteromius | Phylum Chordata Scientific name Barbus jae Rank Species | |
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Similar Barbus, Barbus hulstaerti, Cyprinidae, Clipper barb, Barbus fasciolatus | ||
Jae barb or Dja barb, Enteromius jae, is a species of ray-finned fish which like other sub-Saharan "barbs" was formerly placed in the genus Barbus, it has now been reallocated to Enteromius.
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Description
The jae barb is a small fish which grows to 4 cm (1.6 in) in length. They have red fins brighter in the males than in the females, while the body is predominantly beige-brown in colour. In addition the females are larger and bulkier than the males. Fish from collected from different locations are known to vary in both colour and patterning, for example male fish from the River Nyong basin close to Sombo in Cameroon turn uniform blood red in colour when in breeding while fish collected around Awae, which is also in the Nyong but further upstream, only turn red on the rear half of the body. Individuals collected from other places within Cameroon such as the River Sanaga, River Ntem and River Dja exhibit similar, often subtle, differences. Further south in Gabon individuals have been recorded which have an almost completely grey body colour counterpointed with deep red to black dorsal and ventral fins in mature male fish.
Habitat
The jae barb lives in slow-moving, shallow, shaded rainforest streams and swamps with dense emergent vegetation.
Distribution
The jae barb is found from western central Africa from the River Wouri in Cameroon to the River Kouilou-Niari in the Republic of Congo and the River Chiloango basin. It is also found in the lower, middle and upper Congo River basin in Cameroon, Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Biology
The jae barb is probably a micropredator feeding mainly on insect larvae and small crustaceans.
Conservation status
The Jae barb is a widespread species and no major threats have been identified, it has a wide range throughout central Africa and is assessed as Least Concern.
Taxonomy
The genus Barbus sensu lato contains over 340 putative species and is polyphyletic. It has been proposed that only the European, Southwest Asian and North African representatives should be included in Barbus sensu stricto with around 20 species and that all of the species of Barbus sensu lato are allocated to an already existing genus but if no previous genus has been allocated then they should be referred to as "Barbus” on an interim basis. The small African species were placed in the genus Enteromius.