Nile carp

Nile carp
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Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Cypriniformes
Family:	Cyprinidae
Genus:	Labeo
Species:	L. niloticus
Binomial name
Labeo niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) [2]
Synonyms [3]
Cyprinus niloticus Linnaeus, 1758 Cyprinus niloticus Forsskål, 1775 Labeo vulgaris Heckel, 1847

The Nile carp (Labeo niloticus) is a fish species in the genus Labeo . It feeds primarily on plankton, and is distributed along the entire Nile valley. The Nile carp's diet is classified as mostly herbivorous, and besides plankton, it commonly consumes green algae, blue-green algae, and diatoms (El-Naggar et al., 2019). ^[4] The species also has a large population of their species located in the Khashm El-Girba reservoir and Atbara River, and their breeding season occurs between the months of July to September (Abdalla et al., 2020). ^[5] It is generally believed^{[ by whom? ]} to be the fish that swallowed the phallus of the Egyptian god Osiris in the myth regarding his death at the hands of his brother Seth.^{[ citation needed ]}

References

1. Azeroual, A.; Getahun, A.; Vreven, E. (2010). "Labeo niloticus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2010 e.T182692A7945029. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T182692A7945029.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. FishBase
3. Bailly N (ed.). "Labeo niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758)". FishBase . World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2025-09-26.
4. El-Naggar, H. A., Khalaf Allah, H. M. M., Masood, M. F., Shaban, W. M., & Bashar, M. A. E. (2019). "Food and feeding habits of some Nile River Fish and their relationship to the availability of natural food resources". Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research. 45 (3): 273–280.
5. Abdalla, M. Y., Abdelhalim, A. I., & Adam, A. E. (2020). "Study of some biological aspects of the Nile carp, Labeo niloticus (pisces, Cyprinidae) from Khashm el-Girba Reservoir and Atbara River, Sudan: I abundance; sex ratio; gonado-somatic index and breeding season". Asian Journal of Research in Zoology: 21–28.