Mesopotamian barb
(Capoeta damascina)
General data
Scientific names:
Mesopotamian barb, Levantine scraper
Habitat:
Freshwater
Climate:
Subtropical
Native:
Asia
Capoeta damascina, the Levantine scraper or Mesopotamian barb, is a species of cyprinid fish from the Near East region. It is reported from Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Turkey.
It is a bottom feeding fish, up to 50 cm (1.6 ft) long but typically about 30 cm (1 ft), and it lives in lakes as well as both fast and slow-moving streams, and both in clear and muddy waters. It is said to have tasteless flesh and toxic eggs. It has been recorded hybridising with Carasobarbus canis but these hybrids are sterile.
