Black carp | |
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Adult | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Cypriniformes |
Family: | Cyprinidae |
Subfamily: | Squaliobarbinae |
Genus: | Mylopharyngodon |
Species: | M. piceus |
Binomial name | |
Mylopharyngodon piceus (J. Richardson, 1846) | |
Synonyms | |
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The black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) or Chinese black roach is a species of cyprinid freshwater fish and the sole extant species of the genus Mylopharyngodon . It is native to lakes and rivers in East Asia, ranging from the Amur Basin across China to Vietnam. [2] One of the largest cyprinids in the world, the black carp has a typical length of 60–120 cm (23.5–47 in), though it can reach up to 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in) in length and 109 kg (240 lb) in weight. [2] It is carnivorous and generally feeds on invertebrates such as snails, clams and mussels.
Black carp, together with bighead carp, silver carp, and grass carp, make up the culturally important "four famous domestic fishes" used in polyculture in China for over a thousand years. It has also been introduced in the United States as one of the invasive "Asian carps", though it is not as widely distributed worldwide as the other three.
In China, black carp is widely cultivated for food and Chinese medicine, being one of the most highly esteemed and expensive domestic food fish, [3] and partly because of its diet and limited food supply, is the most scarce and expensive in the marketplace among the "four famous domestic fishes". [4]
Black carp are elongated fish with a fusiform body. They appear dusky gray, brown or bluish black and have dark fins. [5] Their dorsal fin is high and pointed. In comparison to grass carp, the distances from the eye to the superior and inferior edges of the pre-operculum are respectively longer, contributing to the elongate appearance of the scaleless head. [5] Unlike in grass carp, the upper lip does not appear to protrude beyond the lower lip when viewed from above with the fish's mouth closed. [5] Black carp have large cycloid scales on their body and a forked tail fin behind a broad caudal peduncle.
The black carp was first accidentally introduced into the United States during a grass carp shipment from Asia in the 1970s. [6] The black carp was later intentionally introduced to the US in the 1980s for use in retention ponds and aquaculture facilities to manage yellow grub and snails populations. It was also to be used as food fish. However, flooding in the South caused these populations of carp to spread into the Mississippi watershed. [7] They continued to spread via the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, where they began to form wild populations. Black carp later began to migrate to connected river systems, and spread via continued flooding events. Aside from this, the population was also introduced via human release.
The nature of the black carp's diet has led to its use in the United States in the control of snails in aquaculture. Snails are obligate alternate hosts of trematode pests that can cause substantial losses to aquaculture crops. Some state aquaculture laws require the carp to be bred as triploids, to render them sterile, thus minimizing the potential for the fish to escape and create self-sustaining populations. The use of triploids, though, does require the maintenance and use of fertile diploid brood stock at least at some location for production of the triploids.
Many mechanical control methods have been used to control the population of Asian carp, including use of noise, walls of bubbles, netting and even explosions, but these have only succeeded in slowing the spread of carp. [7] The most effective methods, such as chemical poisoning, are successful at killing carp, but also affect other fish in the body of water, further disrupting the ecosystem. [7]
Currently, novel control methods are being researched that use carp pheromones to control their behavior. [7] [8] Another widespread effort involves using carp as a food source. Locals in areas where carp have invaded are encouraged to catch and eat them. [7] Efforts to prevent Asian carp from spreading to crucial ecosystems such as the Great Lakes or waterways on the West Coast are ongoing. [9] [10] Local laws prevent human release of these fish in these waterways, and population controls have also contributed to this success. No state allows the intentional release of black carp, sterile or otherwise, but the United States Geological Survey reports that more than 60 confirmed black carp have been caught in the Mississippi River basin. This basin is the second-largest drainage system on the North American continent. The Mississippi River spans 2320 miles, while the entire system covers 1,151,000 sq mi. The presence of black carp within this enormous river system means that this highly invasive species has access to a vast range of bodies of water covering the majority of the Midwestern United States. Rivers where black carp have been captured also include the White in Arkansas, the Atchafalaya and Red in Louisiana, and the Kaskaskia and Illinois Rivers in Illinois. One confirmed escape of black carp from aquaculture has occurred on the Osage River in Missouri, but other escapes are likely, because most early captures were far from this location, in the southern Mississippi basin. Most of the captured fish have been confirmed to be diploid and assumed fertile. Two diploid fingerlings were captured near Cape Girardeau, Missouri in 2016, [11] a sign of natural reproduction of this species in the wild. In Louisiana, many other reports by knowledgeable fishers of their capture have not been verified by biologists. [12]
Black carp are considered to be a serious threat to mollusks native to the United States, many of which are critically endangered. In 2007, the black carp was listed as an "injurious species" under the Lacey Act of 1900. [13] Transporting live black carp, whether sterile or fertile, into the United States or across state lines is thus illegal in most cases.
Black carp have enameloid teeth [14] located in the posterior pharynx between the cleithral bones. [5] There are four teeth on the left side and five teeth on the right side of the pharynx in adults. [14] As the black carp prepare to crush shelled prey, they forcibly occlude their pharyngeal teeth. [15] A horny patch above the pharyngeal teeth helps to position and hold the prey in place as it is crushed. [14] The pharyngeal teeth will be replaced multiple times during the life of the carp. [16]
Generic name from Greek mylo- "mill" + New Latin pharynx- "throat" + Greek odon "tooth". [2] Specific name from Latin piceus "pitch-black."
Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family, including the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives the barbs and barbels, among others. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family, and the largest vertebrate animal family overall, with about 3,000 species; only 1,270 of these remain extant, divided into about 200 valid genera. Cyprinids range from about 12 mm in size to the 3 m (9.8 ft) giant barb. By genus and species count, the family makes up more than two-thirds of the ostariophysian order Cypriniformes. The family name is derived from the Greek word kyprînos.
Koi, or more specifically nishikigoi, are colored varieties of the common carp that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens. In recent years, there has been a trend to distinguish the East Asian Amur carp as a separate species among the common carp, so the scientific name koi may be changed in the future.
The term carp is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized quarries and are valued as both food and ornamental fish in many parts of the Old World, they are generally considered useless trash fish and invasive pests in many parts of Africa, Australia and most of the United States.
Cypriniformes is an order of ray-finned fish, including the carps, minnows, loaches, and relatives. Cypriniformes is an Order within the Superorder Ostariophysi consisting of "Carp-like" Ostariophysins. This order contains 11-12 families, although some authorities have designated as many as 23, over 400 genera, and more than 4,250 species, with new species being described every few months or so, and new genera being recognized frequently. They are most diverse in southeastern Asia, and are entirely absent from Australia and South America. At 112 years old, the longest-lived cypriniform fish documented is the bigmouth buffalo.
Several species of heavy-bodied cyprinid fishes are collectively known in the United States as Asian carp. Cyprinids from the Indian subcontinent—for example, catla and mrigal —are not included in this classification and are known collectively as "Indian carp". Asian carp are considered invasive species in the United States. In June, 2022, the EPA funded initiative to rebrand Asian Carp as Copi was announced. The new name — Copi — is a part of the Federal and multi-state campaign to reintroduce the carps to the public as a healthy and responsible seafood option in order to decrease its numbers in U.S. waterways.
The grass carp is a species of large herbivorous freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae, native to the Pacific Far East, with a native range stretching from northern Vietnam to the Amur River on the Sino-Russian border. This Asian carp is the only species of the genus Ctenopharyngodon.
The bighead carp is a species of cyprinid freshwater fish native to East Asia, and is one of several Asian carps introduced into North America. It is one of the most intensively exploited fishes in fish farming, with an annual worldwide production of over three million tonnes in 2013, principally from China. Unlike the omnivorous common carp, bighead carp are primarily filter-feeding algae eaters, preferentially consuming zooplankton but also phytoplankton and detritus.
The silver carp is a species of freshwater cyprinid fish, a variety of Asian carp native to China and eastern Siberia, from the Amur River drainage in the north to the Xi Jiang River drainage in the south. Although a threatened species in its natural habitat, it has long been cultivated in China as one of the "Four Famous Domestic Fish" (四大家鱼) together with Bighead carp, Black carp and Grass carp. By weight, more silver carp are produced worldwide in aquaculture than any other species of fish except for the grass carp. Silver carp are usually farmed in polyculture with other Asian carp, or sometimes with catla or other fish species.
A molluscivore is a carnivorous animal that specialises in feeding on molluscs such as gastropods, bivalves, brachiopods and cephalopods. Known molluscivores include numerous predatory molluscs,, arthropods such as crabs and firefly larvae, and, vertebrates such as fish, birds and mammals. Molluscivory is performed in a variety ways with some animals highly adapted to this method of feeding behaviour. A similar behaviour, durophagy, describes the feeding of animals that consume hard-shelled or exoskeleton bearing organisms, such as corals, shelled molluscs, or crabs.
The Jullien's golden carp is a species of endangered freshwater ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae found in Southeast Asian river basins. Its existence is being threatened by various economic activities, such as large-scale agriculture and the building of dams for hydropower.
Mylopharyngodon is a genus of fish belongs to the family Cyprinidae, it contains two species: the living black carp and the fossil species Mylopharyngodon wui from the Middle Miocene of China.
The fishing industry in the land-locked country of Laos is a major source of sustenance and food security to its people dwelling near rivers, reservoirs and ponds. Apart from wild capture fisheries, which is a major component of fish production, aquaculture and stocking are significant developments in the country. Historically, fishing activity was recorded in writings on the gate and walls of the Wat Xieng Thong in Luang Prabang dated 1560. For many Laotians, freshwater fish are the principal source of protein. The percentage of people involved in regular fishing activity is very small, only near major rivers or reservoirs, as for most of the fishers it is a part-time activity.
China, with one-fifth of the world's population, accounts for two-thirds of the world's reported aquaculture production.
Cirrhinus molitorella is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Cirrhinus found mainly in southern China and Vietnam.
Canadian aquatic invasive species are all forms of life that traditionally has not been native to Canada's waterways. In Eastern Canada, non-native plant and animal species are a concern to biologists. Bringing non-native species such as invasive fishes into Canada can damage the environment and ecosystem by repressing native species due to food competition or preying. Invasive fishes enter the fresh waters of Canada in several ways including drifting, deliberate introduction, accidental release, experimental purposes and, most commonly, through the attachment on international boat hulls. Invasive species are the second biggest threat to fish and other marine life in Canada behind loss of habitat and degradation. The threat to native species is primarily caused by impacts on the food web; however, invasive species also bring dangerous pathogens and physically interfere with existing aquatic life. Invasive species include sea lampreys, zebra mussels, smallmouth bass, European green crab, vase tunicate, and sea squirts.
The Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences (CAFS) is a large fisheries research institute. It was founded in 1978 under the Ministry of Agriculture in the People's Republic of China. It is a leading research institution in China, active in almost all research areas to do with aquaculture and marine and freshwater fisheries.
Asian carp, an invasive species species of fish introduced into North America, pose a major threat to the ecology, environment, economy, and way of life in the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada. The term refers to a group of cyprinid fish species originally native to East Asia, of which include several are known to be invasive in the United States, and represent the most urgent potential danger to the ecology of the Great Lakes.
Angulyagra polyzonata is a species of a freshwater snail with a gill and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Viviparidae.
Squaliobarbinae is a small subfamily of the carp and minnow family, Cyprinidae, which consists of three monotypic genera which have their natural distributions in eastern Asia. Two species, the grass carp and the black carp, have been introduced to other parts of the world for weed control and aquaculture. They are large cyprinids characterised by an enlarged subtemporal fossa, the palate articulating with the supraethmoid, an enlarged intercalar bone in the cranial vault, and a divided levator posterior muscle.
A rice-fish system is a polyculture practice that integrates rice agriculture with aquaculture, most commonly with freshwater fish. This practice is highly valued as it was one of the first to be considered as a “Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System” according to FAO-GEF. It is based on a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship between rice and fish that is developed when introduced into the same ecosystem. Many benefits in various spheres come with these systems.