barbel
a slender, external process on the jaw or other part of the head of certain fishes.
any of various cyprinoid fishes of the genus Barbus, especially B. barbus, of European waters.
Origin of barbel
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use barbel in a sentence
Each individual has four barbels, the median pair of which are extremely long.
Amphibians and Reptiles of the Rainforests of Southern El Peten, Guatemala | William E. DuellmanIts head is large and broad, its mouth wide, furnished with six barbels, of which those of the upper jaw are very long.
Their mouth is small, surrounded by six barbels, which are more or less fringed with a membrane or with branched tentacles.
The "oral cirri" suggest somewhat the barbels of the nose and mouth of a hagfish.
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2) | David Starr JordanSurmullet, sur-mul′et, n. a mulloid food-fish of the genus Mullus, with two long barbels on the throat.
British Dictionary definitions for barbel
/ (ˈbɑːbəl) /
any of several slender tactile spines or bristles that hang from the jaws of certain fishes, such as the catfish and carp
any of several European cyprinid fishes of the genus Barbus, esp B. barbus, that resemble the carp but have a longer body and pointed snout
Origin of barbel
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for barbel
[ bär′bəl ]
A slender, whiskerlike feeler extending from the head of certain fish, such as the catfish. It is used for touch and taste.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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