Cyclocheilichthys is a genus of barbs in the carp family, native to rivers, floodplains, and lakes across mainland and insular Southeast Asia, with the atlas recording species from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Myanmar, and the Philippines. The atlas covers 9 species spanning an unusually wide size range for the genus, from about 4 in up to 23.5 in, reflecting a mix of modest stream-dwelling barbs and much larger river species. Cyclocheilichthys apogon, the beardless barb, is named for lacking the barbels that many of its relatives carry around the mouth, a useful field mark within the genus.
These are primarily fish of ichthyological and regional food-fishery interest rather than aquarium staples; several species are harvested commercially in rivers and floodplain lakes such as the Mekong system, and the larger-growing members of the genus are far too big for typical home aquariums. Most of the genus is doing reasonably well on paper, with seven of nine species rated Least Concern, though one is Endangered and one Data Deficient, a pattern consistent with heavy fishing pressure and habitat change acting unevenly across a wide-ranging genus.