Barbel

A slender sensory appendage near the mouth of many fishes, bearing taste and touch receptors. Barbels help fish detect food and other objects, especially in dim or turbid water.

Taste bud: A sensory organ containing receptor cells that detect dissolved chemicals as taste. Taste buds on many barbels detect food chemicals in the surrounding water.
Fish anatomy: The structure of fishes, including their organs, skeletons, fins, and external features. Barbels attach near the mouth and vary with the anatomy of different fish groups.
Benthic fish: Fish that live and feed on or near the bottom of a body of water. Bottom-dwelling fish often use barbels to probe sediment and locate prey.
Corydoras: A genus of small South American freshwater catfish with short barbels around the mouth. Corydoras use paired facial barbels while searching substrates for food.
Mechanoreception: The detection of physical forces such as pressure, vibration, or movement. Touch-sensitive barbel receptors provide one form of mechanoreception.
Epidermis: The outer layer of tissue covering an animal's body. A barbel's surface carries sensory structures exposed to the surrounding water.
Foraging: The behaviors animals use to find and obtain food. Barbels support close-range food searching in habitats where prey is hidden.
Common carp: A large freshwater fish with two pairs of barbels beside its mouth. Its conspicuous barbels are a clear example of the feature in carp.
Chemoreception: The detection of chemical substances through receptors in an organism. Barbels sample dissolved chemicals, extending chemoreception beyond the mouth.
Sensory receptor: A specialized cell or structure that detects a stimulus and initiates a sensory signal. Barbel receptors convert contact and chemical cues into nerve signals.

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