Its scientific name honours the Portuguese zoologist and politician Jose Vicente Barboza du Bocage.

It is here placed in Luciobarbus following the IUCN, but that genus is very closely related to the other typical barbels and perhaps better considered a mere subgenus of Barbus.

Also, the two species are distinguished by their microhabitat preferences where they are sympatric, with L. comizo inhabiting almost stagnant parts of the river.

[4] L. bocagei is endemic to the Atlantic part Iberian Peninsula, where it occurs in both Portugal and Spain.

They spawn in late spring to early summer (May to June) in faster-moving water than they normally inhabit.