Hello Paul,

You are right about the fish, but not about the barbarians.  The adjective
"barbatus/barbata" does mean, just as you said, "bearded".  The english word
"barbel" is used not only to designate a certain type of fresh water fish,
but also to designate the fleshy appendages or "feelers" seen on the mouths
of several kinds of fish, including barbels, catfish, sturgeons, hake, etc.
This word is derived from the Latin "barbellus", which is a diminutive form
of  "barbus", meaning  "beard" ("barbellus" therefore means "little beard").
The scientific name of the barbel is Barbus barbus, so obviously it was
named after its "beard", that is its barbels.  Obviously, this is also where
we get the english word "barber".  This is unrelated to "babble", which is
what the above paragraph sounds like!

However - "barbarus/barbara" is a different adjective, meaning "foreign".
It was also used to mean "crude" or "rough", which is apparently how the
Romans viewed anyone from outside the Empire, i.e., foreigners.  That's why
"barbarian" came to mean not just a foreigner, but a crude or uncivilized
foreigner.  In adddition to the adjective barbarus/barbara, there is also a
feminine nown "barbara", meaning "a foreign woman".  Therefore a species
named "barbara" could theoretically be named after a woman, but the name
more likely refers to the rough texture of the shell.

Regards,
Paul M.