Arabibarbus grypus

Arabibarbus grypus is a species of Cyprinid fish called in English and Persian or Arabic by the common names shirbot and variations shabut, shabboot or shabbout, and in local languages by several other common names. It is a large freshwater carp found in the Tigris-Euphrates Basin. It is a commercially fished species in this region. This species can grow to a length of nearly 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) and a weight of over 50 kg (110 lb).

A. grypus has recently been in the news ^[2] when it was proposed that this "shabut" was identical to the fish called in the Talmud shibuta (שיבוטא). The latter's brain is famous for being touted as the kosher equivalent, taste-wise, of the otherwise forbidden and even taboo pork meat (cf. Chullin 109b). However, names of species are notorious for changing over time and between related languages, a fact, incidentally, the Talmud itself attests. The fact that Arabibarbus grypus is called in Modern Hebrew Shibuta is no proof that it is the same fish as the Talmudic one, as Modern Hebrew has a strong tendency to assimilate local Arabic names for such realia.

The fish is also being considered for aquaculture. Many species of carp are farmed as a protein source already.

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