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.
Acrossocheilus is a genus of ray-finned fishes in the family Cyprinidae, native to freshwater in China, Taiwan, Laos, and Vietnam. They are fairly small, no more than 30 cm (1 ft) in standard length.
Salangidae, the icefishes or noodlefishes, are a family of small osmeriform fish, related to the smelts. They are found in Eastern Asia, ranging from the Russian Far East in the north to Vietnam in the south, with the highest species richness in China. Some species are widespread and common, but others have relatively small ranges and are threatened. Depending on species, they inhabit coastal marine, brackish or fresh water habitats, and some are anadromous, only visiting fresh water to spawn.
Pseudobagrus is a genus of bagrid catfishes that inhabit streams and rivers throughout East Asia. About half of these species occur in China.
Ammoglanis is a genus of pencil catfishes native to South America.
Neosalanx is a genus of icefishes native to Eastern Asia, ranging from Korea, through Japan and China, to Vietnam. They inhabit coastal marine waters, estuaries and river basins. There are both species that are threatened and species that are widespread.
Bryconops is a genus of freshwater fish in the family Iguanodectidae from South America. It consists of small fish, all under half-a-foot long, with slender bodies and silvery scales, though there is some mild color variation. Several species can be identified by way of a humeral patch, and others have a reddish ocellus, or eyespot, on one or both lobes of the dorsal fin.
Neosalanx tangkahkeii, the Chinese icefish or short-snout icefish, is a species of icefish endemic to fresh and brackish waters in China. Despite its common name it is not the only icefish in China; the majority of the species in this family are found in the country.
Fish are very diverse animals and can be categorised in many ways. Although most fish species have probably been discovered and described, about 250 new ones are still discovered every year. According to FishBase about 34,800 species of fish had been described as of February 2022, which is more than the combined total of all other vertebrate species: mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds.
Lenoks, otherwise known as Asiatic trout or Manchurian trout, are salmonid fish of the genus Brachymystax, native to rivers and lakes in Mongolia, Kazakhstan, wider Siberia, Northern China and Korea.
Schizothorax heterochilus is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Schizothorax from the upper parts of the Yangtze basin in China.
Schizothorax prenanti, also known as Ya-fish, is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Schizothorax from the middle and upper parts of the Yangtze basin in China. It is also known as Yayu, as it is native to the city of Ya'an, Sichuan.
Triplophysa orientalis is a species of stone loach. It is a freshwater fish from the Tibetan Plateau and is endemic to China; its distribution includes the upper reaches of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, among others. It lives in a wide range of habitats, both lentic and lotic. The species is widespread but populations tend to be isolated and show high degree of genetic divergence.
Aphia minuta, the transparent goby, is a species of the goby native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean where it can be found from Trondheim, Norway to Morocco. It is also found in the Mediterranean, Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. It is a pelagic species, inhabiting inshore waters and estuaries. It can be found at depths of from the surface to 97 metres (318 ft), though it is usually found at 5 to 80 metres, over sandy and muddy bottoms and also in eelgrass beds. This species can reach a length of 7.9 centimetres (3.1 in) TL. It is an important species to local commercial fisheries. It is currently the only known member of its genus.
Microphysogobio is a genus of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae native to East Asia.
Xenophysogobio is a genus of cyprinid fish endemic to China. There are currently two described species in this genus.
Li Sizhong was an ichthyologist with the Institute of Zoology (中国科学院动物研究所) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Throughout his research career, he made numerous discoveries of new fish species, and published many books and research papers describing the fauna and geographical distribution of fishes in China and beyond. He translated and helped publication of the Chinese editions of Fishes of the World and Fish Migration. Li was the major author of two published volumes in the Fauna Sinica monograph series, systematically reviewing and describing orders of bony fishes that include flat fish, cod, silverside, pearlfish, killifish, flying fish, etc. in or near China. He had authored at least 60 academic papers, written over 40 popular science articles about fish on Chinese newspapers and magazines, and been responsible for compiling and editing fish-related entries in several standard reference books. His works on freshwater ichthyofauna of China as well as other aspects of ichthyology are considered to be among some of the most notable in the Chinese ichthyology literature.
Neosalangichthys ishikawae, the Ishikawa icefish, is a species of Salangidae that is endemic to marine waters near the coast in northern Honshu, Japan. Originally placed in the genus Salangichthys, the species was assigned in 2012 to the monotypic genus Neosalangichthys. Adults stay in relatively shallow open marine waters, but larve and immatures typically stay off beaches, often in the surf zone, in waters that range from marine to brackish. Unlike the more widespread S. microdon with which it often occurs, N. ishikawae does not occur in fresh water.
Protosalanx is a small genus of icefishes that are native to China, Korea and Vietnam where they primarily inhabit coastal waters and nearby fresh waters. They are commercially fished and used for aquaculture in China, where also introduced to some inland waters like Lake Dianchi. In addition to being eaten locally in Asia, they are exported to southern Europe as a replacement of the more expensive transparent goby, a Mediterranean species used in the local cuisine. This replacement is often done openly, but sometimes it is done fraudulently.
Macropodus is a genus of small to medium-sized labyrinth fish native to freshwater habitats in eastern Asia. Most species are restricted to southern China and Vietnam, but M. opercularis occurs as far north as the Yangtze basin, and M. ocellatus occurs north to the Amur River, as well as in Japan and Korea. In China, they are often used for fights, so they are named Chinese bettas because of their similarity to the genus Betta. A few species in the genus are regularly seen in the aquarium trade, and M. opercularis has been introduced to regions far outside its native range.
