Varicorhinus

a genus of freshwater fishes of the family Cyprinidae. The body reaches a length of 60 cm and a weight of 2 kg. The mouth is inferior, in the form of a transverse slit, with a horney lower lip adapted for scraping plant overgrowths. The genus embraces approximately 25 species, which inhabit fresh waters of South Asia and Africa. Two or three species are found in the USSR, in Transcaucasia and southwestern parts of Middle Asia. The fish are herbivorous, feeding mainly on lower algae. They deposit their roe on gravelly or sandy bottoms. The eggs measure as much as 4 mm in diameter.

V. capoeta inhabits rivers and lakes of eastern Transcaucasia and western Turkmenia. It grows slowly. Males attain sexual maturity in the fourth year of life, and females in the ninth. The female deposits between 10,000 and 74,000 eggs. V. capoeta includes three subspecies: the Kura khramulia (gracilis), the Sevan khramulia (sevangi), and the Transcaspian khramulia (heratensis), all of which are fished for local consumption.