It is greenish-brown in color with dark spots, has small scales, and reddish fins. Its head is elongated, with a small eye and a protractile, underside of the mouth, with well-developed lips and two pairs of barbels on the upper jaw. It can reach 60 cm in length and 4 kg in weight.
This fish is typical of the middle and upper reaches of rivers. It is also present in some lakes, but always associated with clear, well-oxygenated waters with gravel or sandy bottoms. It is rarely found above 600 meters.
It moves in small groups that feed on the bottom, often turning over pebbles in search of insect larvae. It breeds in May-June, moving in large schools upstream in flowing waters in search of gravelly bottoms (e.g., the lower Avisio River). Females lay several thousand eggs (toxic; they should not be eaten), which hatch after about ten days. Hybrids with the common barbel are known.
The construction of dams and barriers, while impeding the movement of barbel along the river, also encourages their settlement upstream, as it ensures the presence of deep waters frequented by barbel, especially during their winter hibernation. The summer warming of the residual water downstream from the dams has in some cases favored not only chub but also barbel, to the detriment of trout. Barbel meat is tasty but full of bones.
Dialect: barbi, barbiol, barbol .
G. TOMASI, 2004 - The Three Hundred Lakes of Trentino. Ed. Artimedia – Temi, Trento, 535 pp.
