Menderes Barbel

Can be separated from all congeners in Anatolia and Europe by the position of the dorsal-fin origin conspicuously behind the pelvic-fin origin (vs. directly above or very slightly behind) and by possessing 43-46 total lateral line scales (vs. 50-90 in all others, except Luciobarbus lydianus and Luciobarbus graecus). Additional characters useful to identify this species include: 14-15, modally 15, gill rakers on the first gill arch; lips thin; lower lip with a swollen median pad margined by a shallow groove in some specimens; last simple ray of the dorsal fin well ossified, with moderate serrae along posterior edge (Ref. 77060).Description: dorsal fin with 4 simple and 8 branched rays, anal fin with 3 simple and 5 branched rays; pectoral fin with 17-19 branched rays; and pelvic fin with 1 simple and 8 branched rays (Ref. 77060).

Dorsal soft rays (total): 12; Analsoft rays: 8; Vertebrae: 41 - 43

The Menderes barbel (Luciobarbus kottelati) is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Luciobarbus from the Büyük Menderes River basin in Turkey.

The fish is named in honor of Swiss ichthyologist Maurice Kottelat (b. 1957), because of his contributions to the knowledge of European and Asian fishes.