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 (0.5 in) 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.
The common carp, also known as European carp or Eurasian carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia. The native wild populations are considered vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), but the species has also been domesticated and introduced into environments worldwide, and is often considered a destructive invasive species, being included in the list of the world's 100 worst invasive species. It gives its name to the carp family, Cyprinidae.
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 and are entirely absent from Australia and South America. At 112 years old, the longest-lived cypriniform fish documented is the bigmouth buffalo.
Cobitidae, also known as the true loaches, is a family of Old World freshwater fish. They occur throughout Eurasia and in Morocco, and inhabit riverine ecosystems. Today, most "loaches" are placed in other families. The family includes about 260 described species. New species are being described regularly.
The Cottidae are a family of fish in the superfamily Cottoidea, the sculpins. It is the largest sculpin family, with about 275 species in 70 genera. They are referred to simply as cottids to avoid confusion with sculpins of other families.
The Abyssocottinae are a subfamily of ray-finned fishes in the family Cottidae, the sculpins. They are known commonly as the deep-water sculpins. The entire subfamily is endemic to Lake Baikal in Siberia.
The Moronidae is a family of percomorph fishes, commonly called the temperate basses, in the order Moroniformes. These fishes are found in the freshwaters of North America and the coastal waters of the North Atlantic.
Carassius is a genus in the ray-finned fish family Cyprinidae. Most species in this genus are commonly known as crucian carps, though that term often refers specifically to C. carassius. The most well known species is the goldfish. They have a Eurasian distribution, apparently originating further to the west than the typical carps.
Tincinae is a doubtful subfamily of freshwater ray-finned fish from the family Cyprinidae, it consists of the tench of Eurasia and the east Asian clod minnows.
The Catostomidae are the suckers of the order Cypriniformes, with about 78 species in this family of freshwater fishes. The Catostomidae are almost exclusively native to North America. The only exceptions are Catostomus catostomus, found in both North America and Russia, and Myxocyprinus asiaticus found only in China. In the Ozarks they are a common food fish and a festival is held each year to celebrate them. The bigmouth buffalo, Ictiobus cyprinellus, can reach an age up to 127 years, making it the oldest known freshwater teleost by more than 50 years.
Indostomus is a genus of small fishes native to slow moving or stagnant freshwater habitats in Indochina. It is the sole genus of the monogeneric family Indostomidae, Long considered to be sticklebacks, within the order Gasterosteiformes, modern analyses place the Indostomids within the order Synbranchiformes, related to the spiny eels and swamp eels.
Loaches are ray-finned fish of the suborder Cobitoidei. They are freshwater, benthic (bottom-dwelling) fish found in rivers and creeks throughout Eurasia and northern Africa. Loaches are among the most diverse groups of fish; the 1249 known species of Cobitoidei comprise about 107 genera divided among 9 families.
Elopichthys is a monospecific genus of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Xenocyprididae, the East Asian minnows or sharpbellies. The only species in the genus is Elopichthys bambusa, the yellowcheek or kanyu, a large fish that is found in freshwater habitats in eastern Asia. It ranges from the Amur River in Russia, through China to the Red and Lam Rivers in Vietnam. It prefers relatively warm waters, entirely avoiding colder highlands. It is considered an important food fish where it occurs, reaching up to 2 m in total length and 52.2 kg (115 lb) in weight.
Schizopygopsis extrema is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae, the family which also includes the carps, barbs, minnowns and related fishes. This species is endemic to the upper Yellow River basin in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau of China. It has been classified in the monospecific genus Platypharodon, however, Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes classifies this species within the genus Schizopygopsis in the subfamily Schizopygopsinae,
Polypterus endlicherii, the saddled bichir, is one of the largest species of the Polypterus genus of freshwater fish.
Congroidei is a suborder of ray-finned fishes belonging to the order Anguilliformes, the eels. These eels are mostly marine, although a few species of snake eel will enter freshwater, and they are found in tropical and tempareate waters throughout the world.
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.
Xenocyprididae, is a family of freshwater ray-finned fishes with a natural distribution in Asia. This taxon, sometimes spelt Xenocypridae, was previoulsy regarded to be a subfamily, Xenocyprinae, of the family Cyprinidae. Cyprinidae sensu lato is now divided into a number of smaller families within the suborder Cyprinoidei, in the order Cypriniformes.
Cyprinoidei is a suborder, or superfamily, of mostly freshwater ray-finned fishes within the large order Cypriniformes. Cyprinoidei was formerly a monotypic grouping only containing a single large family, the Cyprinidae but this has now been divided into a number of different families.
Smiliogastrinae is a subfamily of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the famly Cyprinidae, the family which includes the carps, barbs and relalted fishes. The fishes in this genus are found in Africa and Asia and are commonly referred to as barbs.
