Luciobarbus brachycephalus (Kessler, 1872) [N]—Aral barbel Taxonomy. Original description: Barbus brachycephalus Kessler, 1872: 52 [8], pl. 7, figs. 9–11 [Syr-Darya River, central Asia; syntypes: NMW 53971-73 (1, 2, 1); ZIN 5759 (1, not found in 2000), 5878 (1, not found in 1996 or 2000)].— Afghanistan synonyms: Barbus obtusirostris Yakovlev, 1870; Barbus platyrostris Kessler, 1874.— Revisions: Berg (1949: 702) as Barbus brachycephalus.—Illustration: Berg (1949: 703–704, figs. 457–459) as Barbus brachycephalus. Status in Afghanistan. First record from Afghanistan by Berg (1949: 705) as Barbus brachycephalus; confirmed by Maksumov (1971), Coad (1981: 9; 2014: 184; 2015: 228).—Afghanistan materials: None. Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Afghanistan: Amu Darya, Panj River.—General distribution: Aral Sea and western and southern Caspian Sea basins.—Habitat: This species lives in deep stretches with gravel or stone bottoms. Spawns in fast-flowing water at sites with a hard bottom, 1–2 m deep. Semi-anadromous and riverine populations. Anadromous, freshwater, brackish, marine. Economic importance. Commercially important. Conservation. Conservation status in Afghanistan: Unknown.—IUCN: VU (Freyhof & Kottelat 2008a).—Threats: FIT, CON, ABS.—High sensitivity to human activities.—Keystone species.—Decline status: Decreasing.— High priority for conservation action.

Published as part of Çiçek, Erdoğan, Fricke, Ronald, Eagderi, Soheil, Sungur, Sevil, Coad, Brian W & Hamdard, Mohammad Hamid, 2023, Fishes of Afghanistan; a revised and updated annotated checklist, pp. 1-69 in Zootaxa 5305 (1) on page 24, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5305.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/8048564