Cypriniformes is an order of ray-finned fish, which includes many families and genera of cyprinid fish, such as barbs, gobies, loaches, botias, and minnows. Cypriniformes is an “order-within-an-order”, placed under the superorder Ostariophysi—which is also made up of cyprinid, ostariophysin fishes. The order contains 11-12 families, over 400 genera, and more than 4,250 named species; new species are regularly described, and new genera are recognized frequently. Cyprinids are most diverse in South and Southeast Asia, but are entirely absent from Australia and South America. At 112 years old, the longest-lived cypriniform fish documented is the bigmouth buffalo.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological species. A series of Regional Red Lists, which assess the risk of extinction to species within a political management unit, are also produced by countries and organizations.
The Chinese paddlefish, also known as the Chinese swordfish, is an extinct species of fish that was formerly native to the Yangtze and Yellow River basins in China. With records of specimens over three metres and possibly 7 m (23 ft) in length, it was one of the largest species of freshwater fish. It was the only species in the genus Psephurus and one of two recent species of paddlefish (Polyodontidae), the other being the American paddlefish. It was an anadromous species, meaning that it spent part of its adult life at sea, while migrating upriver to spawn.
Freshwater ecosystems are a subset of Earth's aquatic ecosystems. They include lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, springs, bogs, and wetlands. They can be contrasted with marine ecosystems, which have a larger salt content. Freshwater habitats can be classified by different factors, including temperature, light penetration, nutrients, and vegetation. There are three basic types of freshwater ecosystems: Lentic, lotic and wetlands. Freshwater ecosystems contain 41% of the world's known fish species.
The June sucker is an endangered species of fish endemic to Utah Lake and the Provo River in the U.S. state of Utah. It is named after the month in which it spawns. It is a gray or brownish fish with a paler belly, growing up to about 24 in (61 cm). It lives alongside the Utah sucker, which has a much wider range. Due to the populations of both fish becoming greatly reduced in the lake as a result of fishing, other species such as the common carp have been introduced into the lake. As a result, the June sucker has become "critically endangered" as the pure species is lost as a result of hybridization with the Utah sucker, and predatory fish feed on its larvae. Conservation measures have been put in place and fish are being raised in a fish hatchery for reintroduction.
The Amistad gambusia is an extinct species of small fish known only from a single locality, the large vegetated Goodenough Spring in Val Verde County, Texas. It apparently was driven to extinction in the wild when its habitat was submerged to a depth of about 70 feet by the construction of the Amistad Reservoir in 1968. The two captive populations, at the University of Texas System and the Dexter National Fish Hatchery in New Mexico, later failed through hybridization with the related mosquitofish and predation. The species has been classified as extinct by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service since 1987, and by the IUCN since 2013.
The Utah sucker is a species of freshwater fish in the family Catostomidae found in the upper Snake River and the Lake Bonneville areas of western North America where it lives in a wide range of habitats. It is a large sucker growing up to 25 in (64 cm) long. It is generally blackish above, vaguely streaked and blotched, with a white belly. A narrow rosy lateral band extends backwards from the head. The mouth has thick lips and is on the underside of the head. Some populations are in decline because of anthropogenic factors but overall this fish is not threatened.
Rough fish is a term used by some United States state agencies and anglers to describe fish that are less desirable to sport anglers within a defined region. The term usually refers to larger game fish species that are not commonly eaten, are too rare to be commonly encountered, or are not favorably sought by anglers for sporting purposes. Many of these species are actually very important in the commercial fishing industry, where they make up the bulk of commercial food fish catches in inland freshwater bodies.
Acanthobrama telavivensis, commonly known as the Yarkon bream or Yarkon bleak, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish of the family Cyprinidae found only in Israel, in the Yarkon River system.
Chasmistes is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Catostomidae.
The Mexican dace, or Mexican chub, is an extinct species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. It was found only in Mexico, in the canals and streams of the Valley of Mexico. It is estimated to have become extinct circa 1983. The extinction of this species coincided with the drying of water bodies in the valley. This drying was a result of the increasing demands placed on the water resources of the valley by agriculture, as well as by the growth of Mexico City and its suburbs.
Chirostoma bartoni, the Alberca silverside, is a species of neotropical silverside endemic to the Lerma River basin of Mexico. Typical adult specimens are approximately 7.1 cm in length.
The Scioto madtom was a species of fish in the family Ictaluridae. It is listed as extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which notes that it has likely been entirely or functionally extinct since 1957 given the lack of records since that year.
The upland combshell was a species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae. It was endemic to the upper Mobile River Basin in the southeastern United States.
Epioblasma othcaloogensis, the southern acornshell or southern acorn riffle shell, was a species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae. It was only known from the Coosa and Cahaba Rivers of the southeastern United States.
Epioblasma turgidula, the turgid blossom pearly mussel, turgid riffle shell, turgid-blossom naiad or turgid blossom, was a species of freshwater mussel, a mollusk in the family Unionidae. The US Fish and Wildlife Service declared the species extinct and delisted it from the Endangered Species Act in 2023.
Pleurobema marshalli, the flat pigtoe or Marshall's mussel, was a species of freshwater mussel in the family Unionidae, the river mussels. It was native to Alabama and Mississippi, but it has not been seen since 1980. Though it is still listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List and as an endangered species on the US Endangered Species List, it is likely extinct.
Epioblasma torulosa, commonly called the tubercled blossom, is a species of freshwater mussel, a mollusk in the family Unionidae. It is native to eastern North America, where it is considered endangered in both Canada and the United States. The US Fish and Wildlife Service declared the Green and Tubercled blossom subspecies extinct and delisted it from the Endangered Species Act on October 16, 2023.
Mayaheros is a genus of cichlid fish that is native to Mexico and northern Central America. This genus has a disjunct distribution, with the M. urophthalmus group being found in the Atlantic drainages of southeastern Mexico, Belize, eastern Guatemala, northern Honduras and northeastern Nicaragua, while M. beani is the northernmost cichlid in the Pacific drainage, ranging from Jalisco to Sonora in northwestern Mexico. Both inhabit a wide range of habitats such as freshwater rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, pools and marshes, as well as brackish waters like estuaries, lagoons and mangrove, with members of the M. urophthalmus group sometimes even occurring in caves or coastal marine waters. They are medium-sized to large cichlids that are omnivorous, feeding mostly on small animals, but also plants and detritus.
Chirostoma charari, the least silverside, is a species of neotropical silverside endemic to Mexico. This species has only been found in a spring in the Lake Cuitzeo basin on the Mesa Central of the Mexican Plateau. It has a longer head and jaw, as well as larger teeth and eyes than other Chirostoma species. Its status is rated as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, and may possibly be extinct.
