Turkestan Barbel
Status: 2 [VU: D]. A subspecies that is endangered in Kyrgyzstan. One of the representatives of the genus Barbus in Kyrgyzstan.
Brief description of the adult form. A large fish, reaching a length of 0.7 m and a weight of 16 kg. The body coloration is golden, with a sharp transition from the dark-colored back to the light belly. The scales are larger than those of the Aral barbel.
General distribution and in the country. Water bodies of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan (listed in the red books of these countries). Border areas of the Chu River with Kazakhstan. It is a typical riverine form.
Habitat. Inhabits the lowland sections of the Chu and Naryn rivers.
Population. Has always been rare, but was encountered much more frequently than the Aral barbel.
Life style (life cycles). During the spawning period, it migrates up rivers for 1000 km. Spawns in April-May in river floods with sandy-stony bottoms, throughout the lowland flow of the rivers [8, 10]. Fecundity is up to 2000 eggs. Spawning may occur every one or two years. Feeds on bottom-dwelling invertebrates and young fish [10].
Limiting factors. Regulation of rivers by dams, which completely blocked migration routes to the territory of Kyrgyzstan.
Breeding. Not conducted.
Existing conservation measures. None taken.
Recommended conservation measures. Prohibition of amateur fishing, protection of spawning and feeding sites. Establishing the population size of the subspecies and clarifying its status.
Kadimki it murun
Turkestan Barbel
Barbus capito conocephalus Kessler
Status: Category 2 [VU: D], endangered in Kyrgyzstan, Aral endemic subspecies of Aral-Caspian species, one of two congeners in the fauna of the Republic. The subspecies is naturally distributed in the basins of the middle courses of the Amudarya, Surkhandarya, Kashkadarya, and Zeravshan Rivers, Syrdarya River, and lower courses of the Chu and Naryn Rivers, and in the past, the Aral Sea; in Kyrgyzstan, it populates the plain lengths of the Chu and Naryn Rivers. It is a large fish, up to 70 cm in length and 16 kg in weight, feeding on bottom-living invertebrates and young fish; the spawning period is April - May. It spawns at river floods with sandy or stony grounds; fecundity is up to 2,000 eggs. It has always been rare in the Republic but was observed significantly more often than B. brachycephalus. Limiting factors: construction of weirs, which completely interrupt migration routes to the territory of Kyrgyzstan. It is not bred in Kyrgyzstan, nor is it protected. To conserve the species, it is necessary to prohibit amateur fishing, protect sites of spawning and feeding, and specify the abundance.
