Cypriniformes is an

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or h ...

, including the

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

minnow Minnow is the common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish, belonging to several genera of the families Cyprinidae and Leuciscidae. They are also known in Ireland as pinkeens. Smaller fish in the subfamily Leusciscidae are ...

loach Loaches are fish of the superfamily Cobitoidea. 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 ...

es, and relatives. Cypriniformes is an Order within the Superorder

Ostariophysi Ostariophysi is the second-largest superorder of fish. Members of this superorder are called ostariophysians. This diverse group contains 10,758 species, about 28% of known fish species in the world and 68% of freshwater species, and are present ...

consisting of "

Carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

-like" Ostariophysins. This order contains 11-12

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

, although some authorities have designated as many as 23, over 400

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial ...

, and more than 4,250 species, with new species being described every few months or so, and new genera being recognized frequently.Eschmeyer, W.N., Fong, J.D. (2015
Species by family/subfamily
in the

Catalog of Fishes Catalog of Fishes is a comprehensive on-line database and reference work on the scientific names of fish species and genera. It is global in its scope and is hosted by the California Academy of Sciences. It has been compiled and is continuously u ...

, California Academy of Sciences (retrieved 2 July 2015) They are most diverse in southeastern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

, and are entirely absent from Australia and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

.Nelson (2006) At 112 years old, the longest-lived cypriniform fish documented is the

bigmouth buffalo Bigmouth may refer to: * "Bigmouth", a song by Underworld * Bigmouth, an ogre in ''The Smurfs'' comics and animated cartoon series Marine life * Bigmouth buffalo, fish * Bigmouth goby, fish * Bigmouth skate, fish * Bigmouth rocksnail, snail ...

. Their closest living relatives are the

Characiformes Characiformes is an order of ray-finned fish, comprising the characins and their allies. Grouped in 18 recognized families, more than 2000 different species are described, including the well-known piranha and tetras.; Buckup P.A.: "Relationshi ...

(

characin Characiformes is an order of ray-finned fish, comprising the characins and their allies. Grouped in 18 recognized families, more than 2000 different species are described, including the well-known piranha and tetras.; Buckup P.A.: "Relationsh ...

s and allies), the

Gymnotiformes The Gymnotiformes are an order of teleost bony fishes commonly known as Neotropical knifefish or South American knifefish. They have long bodies and swim using undulations of their elongated anal fin. Found almost exclusively in fresh water (the ...

(

electric eel The electric eels are a genus, ''Electrophorus'', of neotropical freshwater fish from South America in the family Gymnotidae. They are known for their ability to stun their prey by generating electricity, delivering shocks at up to 860 vo ...

and

American knifefish The Gymnotiformes are an order of teleost bony fishes commonly known as Neotropical knifefish or South American knifefish. They have long bodies and swim using undulations of their elongated anal fin. Found almost exclusively in fresh water (the ...

es), and the

Siluriformes Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

(catfishes).

Description

Like other orders of the

, fishes of Cypriniformes possess a

Weberian apparatus The Weberian apparatus is an anatomical structure that connects the swim bladder to the auditory system in fishes belonging to the superorder Ostariophysi. When it is fully developed in adult fish, the elements of the apparatus are sometimes coll ...

. They differ from most of their relatives in having only a

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

on their backs; most other fishes of Ostariophysi have a small, fleshy

adipose fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as s ...

behind the dorsal fin. Further differences are the Cypriniformes' unique kinethmoid, a small median bone in the snout, and the lack of teeth in the mouth. Instead, they have convergent structures called

pharyngeal teeth Pharyngeal teeth are teeth in the pharyngeal arch of the throat of cyprinids, suckers, and a number of other fish species otherwise lacking teeth.

in the throat. While other groups of fish, such as

cichlid Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted th ...

s, also possess pharyngeal teeth, the cypriniformes' teeth grind against a chewing pad on the base of the skull, instead of an upper pharyngeal jaw. Steinbeisser 001

The most notable family placed here is the

Cyprinidae Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest v ...

(

s and

s), which make up two-thirds of the order's diversity. This is one of the largest families of fish, and is widely distributed across

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...

, and North America. Most species are strictly freshwater inhabitants, but a considerable number are found in

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

water, such as roach and

bream Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including '' Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), '' Acanthopagrus'', '' Argyrops'', '' Blicca'', '' Brama'', '' Chilotilapia'', ''Etelis'', ' ...

. At least one species is found in saltwater, the Pacific redfin, '' Tribolodon brandtii''. Brackish water and marine cyprinids are invariably

anadromous Fish migration is mass relocation by fish from one area or body of water to another. Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousan ...

, swimming upstream into rivers to spawn. Sometimes separated as family

Psilorhynchidae ''Psilorhynchus'' is a genus of fish in the family ''Psilorhynchidae'' native to South Asia. This genus is the only member of its family. The members of ''Psilorhynchus'' are small benthic fishes which occur in rivers and streams with fast to swi ...

, they seem to be specially adapted fishes of the Cyprinidae. The

Balitoridae The hillstream loaches or river loaches are a family, the Balitoridae, of small fish from South, Southeast and East Asia. The family includes about 202 species. They are sometimes sold as "lizardfish" or (in Germany) "flossensaugers". Many of t ...

and

Gyrinocheilidae ''Gyrinocheilus'' is the single genus in the family Gyrinocheilidae, a family of small Southeast Asian cypriniform fishes that live in fast-flowing freshwater mountain streams. The species in this genus are commonly called "algae eaters." They h ...

are families of mountain-stream fishes feeding on

alga Algae ( , ; : alga ) are any of a large and diverse group of photosynthetic, eukaryotic organisms. The name is an informal term for a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from u ...

e and small

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s. They are found only in

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and subtropical

. While the former are a speciose group, the latter contain only a handful of

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

. The suckers (

Catostomidae 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 i ...

) are found in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

North America and eastern Asia. These large fishes are similar to carps in appearance and ecology. Members of the

Cobitidae 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 (see below). The family includ ...

are common across

and parts of

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...

. A midsized group like the suckers, they are rather similar to catfish in appearance and behaviour, feeding primarily off the substrate and equipped with barbels to help them locate food at night or in murky conditions. Fishes in the families Cobitidae, Balitoridae, Botiidae, and Gyrinocheilidae are called loaches, although the last do not seem to belong to the lineage of "true" loaches, but are related to the suckers.He ''et al.'' (2008)

Systematics

Historically, these included all the forms now placed in the

superorder Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...

except the catfish, which were placed in the order

. By this definition, the Cypriniformes were

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

, so recently, the orders Gonorhynchiformes,

, (

s and allies), and

( knifefishes and

s) have been separated out to form their own

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic ...

orders. The

of Cypriniformes are traditionally divided into two suborders. Superfamily Cyprinioidea contains the carps and minnows (

) and also the mountain carps as the family

. In 2012,

Maurice Kottelat Maurice Kottelat (born 16 July 1957 in Delémont, Switzerland ...

reviewed the superfamily Cobitoidei and under his revision it now consists of the following families: hillstream loaches (

), Barbuccidae,

Botiidae Botiidae is a family of cypriniform ray-finned fishes from South, Southeast, and East Asia. Until recently they were placed in the true loach family Cobitidae, until Maurice Kottelat revised the loaches and re-elevated this taxon to family rank ...

, suckers (

), true loaches (

Ellopostomatidae ''Ellopostoma'' is a small genus of loaches native to Southeast Asia. This is the only genus in the family Ellopostomatidae, having been confirmed as being in a family of its own by M. Kottelat in his review of the loaches in 2012.Kottelat, M. ...

Gastromyzontidae The Gastromyzontidae are a family of loaches native to China and Southeast Asia, where typically found in streams and rivers with a fast current. The family includes about 137 species in eighteen genera. This family was resurrected by M. Kotte ...

, sucking loaches (

), stone loaches (

Nemacheilidae The Nemacheilidae, or stone loaches, are a family of cypriniform fishes that inhabit stream environments, mostly in Eurasia, with one genus, ''Afronemacheilus'' found in Africa. The family includes about 790 species. Genera The following a ...

Serpenticobitidae ''Serpenticobitis'', popularly known as serpent loaches, is a small genus of loaches found in the Mekong River Basin in Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, So ...

, and long-finned loaches ( Vaillantellidae).Kottelat, M. (2012) Catostomoidea is usually treated as a junior synonym of the Cobitoidei, but it could be split off the Catostomidae and Gyrinocheilidae in a distinct superfamily; the Catostomoidea might be closer relatives of the carps and minnows than of the "true" loaches. While the Cyprinioidea seem more "primitive" than the loach-like forms, they were apparently successful enough never to shift from the original

ecological niche In ecology, a niche is the match of a species to a specific environmental condition. Three variants of ecological niche are described by It describes how an organism or population responds to the distribution of resources and competitors (fo ...

of the

basal Basal or basilar is a term meaning ''base'', ''bottom'', or ''minimum''. Science * Basal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location for features associated with the base of an organism or structure * Basal (medicine), a minimal level that is nec ...

. Yet, from the

ecomorphological Ecomorphology or ecological morphology is the study of the relationship between the ecological role of an individual and its morphological adaptations. The term "morphological" here is in the anatomical context. Both the morphology and ecology exh ...

ly conservative main lineage apparently at least two major

radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, vi ...

s branched off. These diversified from the lowlands into torrential river

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s, acquiring similar

habitus Habitus may refer to: * Habitus (biology), a term commonly used in biology as being less ambiguous than "habit" * Habitus (sociology), embodied dispositions or tendencies that organize how people perceive and respond to the world around them * ' ...

and adaptations in the process. The mountain carps are the highly

apomorph In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to hav ...

ic Cyprinidae, perhaps close to true carps (Cyprininae), or maybe to the

danionin The danionins are a group of small, minnow-type fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae. Members of this group are mostly in the genera ''Danio'', '' Devario'', and ''Rasbora''. They are primarily native to the fresh waters of South and Southeast ...

s. While some details about the

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

structures of this massively diverse family are known – e.g. that

Cultrinae The Cultrinae are one of at least 13 subfamilies of cyprinid fish. It contains ten genera. Recognized genera * ''Anabarilius'' (21 species) * '' Ancherythroculter'' (5 species) * '' Chanodichthys'' (5 species) * '' Culter'' (4 species) * '' Cul ...

and

Leuciscinae Leuciscinae is a subfamily of the freshwater fish family Cyprinidae, which contains the true minnows. Members of the Old World (OW) clade of minnows within this subfamily are known as European minnows. As the name suggests, most members of the ...

are rather close relatives and stand apart from Cyprininae – no good consensus exists yet on how the main lineages are interrelated. A systematic list, from the most ancient to the most modern lineages, can thus be given as: * Suborder Cyprinoidei ** Family Acheilognathidae Bleeker, 1863 ** Family

Rafinesque, 1815 (carps,

koi or more specifically , are colored varieties of the Amur carp ('' Cyprinus rubrofuscus'') that are kept for decorative purposes in outdoor koi ponds or water gardens. Koi is an informal name for the colored variants of ''C. rubrofuscus'' k ...

goldfish The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the wild have b ...

) and minnows ** Family

Danionidae The danionins are a group of small, minnow-type fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae. Members of this group are mostly in the genera ''Danio'', ''Devario'', and ''Rasbora''. They are primarily native to the fresh waters of South and Southeast ...

Bleeker, 1863 ** Family

Gobionidae Gobioninae is a monophyletic subfamily of Eurasian cyprinid fishes. A species-rich subfamily, it is divided into five tribes: Gobionini, Pseudogobionini, Hemibarbini, Coreiini, and Sarcocheilichthyini. To adapt to different masticatory operatio ...

Bleeker, 1863 ** Family Leptobarbidae Bleeker, 1864 ** Family

Leuciscidae Leuciscinae is a subfamily of the freshwater fish family Cyprinidae, which contains the true minnows. Members of the Old World (OW) clade of minnows within this subfamily are known as European minnows. As the name suggests, most members of the ...

Bonaparte, 1853 ** Family

Paedocyprididae ''Paedocypris'' is a genus of tiny cyprinid fish found in swamps and streams on the Southeast Asian islands of Borneo, Sumatra and Bintan. ''Paedocypris progenetica'' has been claimed to be the one of smallest known species of fish in the worl ...

Mayden & Chen, 2010 ** Family

Hora Hora may refer to: Companies * Hora (company), a Romanian manufacturer of stringed musical instruments People * Hora (surname) * Hora (musician), member of the Japanese duo Schwarz Stein * Hora people, an indigenous people of Bolivia Places * ...

, 1926 ** Family

Sundadanionidae ''Sundadanio'' is a genus of cyprinid fishes from freshwater habitats, typically peat swamps and blackwater streams, in Borneo and Sumatra (as well as nearby smaller islands) in southeast Asia. At up to in standard length they are very small, bu ...

Mayden & Chen, 2010 ** Family Tanichthyidae Mayden & Chen, 2010 ** Family Tincidae Jordan, 1878 ** Family

Xenocyprididae Xenocyprinae, is a contentious subfamily of the family Cyprinidae, the carp and minnow family, originally from eastern Asia. Genera The 5th edition of ''Fishes of the World'' assigns the follow general to this subfamily: *'' Aristichthys'' Oshi ...

Günther, 1868 * Suborder Catostomoidei ** Family

Agassiz 1850 (suckers) * Suborder Gyrinocheiloidei ** Family

Gill 1905 (algae eaters; sucking loaches) * Suborder Cobitoidei ** Family

Swainson 1839 (hillstream loaches) ** Family Barbuccidae Kottelat 2012 (scooter/fire-eyed loaches) ** Family

Berg 1940 (pointface loaches) ** Family

Swainson 1838 (true loaches) ** Family

Bohlen & Šlechtová 2009 (square-head/sturgeon-mouthed loaches) ** Family

Fowler 1905 (sucker loaches) ** Family

Regan 1911 (brook/stone loaches) ** Family

Kottelat 2012 (snake/serpent loaches) ** Family Vaillantellidae Nalbant & Bănărescu 1977 (longfin loaches)

Phylogeny

Phylogeny based on the work of the following worksJörg Bohlen, Vendula Šlechtová: ''Phylogenetic position of the fish genus ''Ellopostoma'' (Teleostei: Cypriniformes) using molecular genetic data.'' Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters. Bd. 20, Nr. 2, 2009, S. 157-162
PDF
1,8 MB)

Evolution

Cypriniformes include the most primitive of the Ostariophysi in the narrow sense (i.e. excluding the

Gonorynchiformes The Gonorynchiformes are an order of ray-finned fish that includes the important food source, the milkfish (''Chanos chanos'', family Chanidae), and a number of lesser-known types, both marine and freshwater. The alternate spelling "Gonorhynch ...

). This is evidenced not only by physiological details, but also by their great distribution, which indicates they had the longest time to spread. The earliest that Cypriniformes might have diverged from Characiphysi (

and relatives) is thought to be about the

Early Triassic The Early Triassic is the first of three epochs of the Triassic Period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). Rocks from this epoch are collectively known as the Lower Triassic Series, which is a ...

, about 250 million years ago ( mya). However, their divergence probably occurred only with the splitting-up of

Pangaea Pangaea or Pangea () was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It assembled from the earlier continental units of Gondwana, Euramerica and Siberia during the Carboniferous approximately 335 millio ...

in the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

, maybe 160 million years ago (Mya). By 110 Mya, the

plate tectonics Plate tectonics (from the la, label= Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large t ...

evidence indicates that the

Laurasia Laurasia () was the more northern of two large landmasses that formed part of the Pangaea supercontinent from around ( Mya), the other being Gondwana. It separated from Gondwana (beginning in the late Triassic period) during the breakup of Pan ...

n Cypriniformes must have been distinct from their

Gondwana Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final st ...

n relatives. The Cypriniformes are thought to have originated in

South-east Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

, where the most diversity of this group is found today. The alternative hypothesis is that they began in

, similar to the other otophysans. If this were the case, they would have spread to Asia through Africa or North America before the continents split up, for these are purely freshwater fishes. As the Characiformes began to diversify and spread, they may have outcompeted South American basal cypriniforms in Africa, where more advanced cypriniforms survive and coexist with characiforms.Briggs (2005) The earliest cypriniform fossils are already assignable to the living

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Catostomidae; from the

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pal ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, they are roughly 60 million years old. During the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

(55-35 Mya), catostomids and cyprinids spread throughout Asia. In the

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but ...

, around 30 Mya, advanced cyprinids began to outcompete catostomids wherever they were

sympatric In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species s ...

, causing a decline of the suckers. Cyprinids reached North America and Europe about the same time, and Africa in the early

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" ...

(some 23-20 Mya). The cypriniforms spread to North America through the

Bering land bridge Beringia is defined today as the land and maritime area bounded on the west by the Lena River in Russia; on the east by the Mackenzie River in Canada; on the north by 72 degrees north latitude in the Chukchi Sea; and on the south by the tip o ...

, which formed and disappeared again several times during the many millions of years of cypriniform evolution.

Relationship with humans

The Cyprinidae in particular are important in a variety of ways. Many species are important food fish, particularly in Europe and Asia. Some are also important as aquarium fish, of which the

and

are perhaps the most celebrated. The other families are of less commercial importance. The Catostomidae have some importance in angling, and some "loaches" are bred for the international aquarium fish trade. Accidentally or deliberately introduced populations of common carp (''Cyprinus carpio'') and grass carp (''Ctenopharyngodon idella'') are found on all continents except Antarctica. In some cases, these Invasive species, exotic species have a negative impact on the environment. Carp in particular stir up the riverbed, reducing the clarity of the water, making plant growth difficult. In science, one of the most famous members of the Cypriniformes is the zebrafish (''Danio rerio''). The zebrafish is one of the most important vertebrate model organisms in biological and biochemical sciences, being used in many kinds of experiments. During early development, the zebrafish has a nearly transparent body, so it is ideal for studying developmental biology. It is also used for the elucidation of biochemical signaling pathways. They are also good pets, but can be shy in bright light and crowded tanks.

Threats and extinction

Habitat destruction, damming of upland rivers, pollution, and in some cases overfishing for food or the pet trade have driven some Cypriniformes to the brink of extinction or even beyond. In particular, Cyprinidae of southwestern North America have been severely affected; a considerable number went entirely extinct after settlement by Europeans. For example, in 1900 the thicktail chub (''Gila crassicauda'') was the most common freshwater fish found in California; 70 years later, not a single living individual existed.

The well-known red-tailed black shark (''Epalzeorhynchos bicolor'') from the Mae Klong River of ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' fame possibly only survives in captivity. Ironically, while pollution and other forms of overuse by humans have driven it from its native home, it is bred for the aquarium fish trade by the thousands. The Acanthobrama telavivensis, Yarqon bleak (''Acanthobrama telavivensis'') from the Yarqon River had to be rescued into captivity from imminent extinction; new populations have apparently been established again successfully from captive stock. The Balitoridae and Cobitidae, meanwhile, contain a very large number of species about which essentially nothing is known except how they look and where they were first found. Globally extinct Cypriniformes species are:IUCN (2007) * ''Acanthobrama hulensis'' * Alburnus akili, Gökçe balığı, ''Alburnus akili'' * ''Barbus microbarbis'' * Snake River sucker, ''Chasmistes muriei'' * ''Chondrostoma scodrense'' * ''Cyprinus yilongensis'' * Mexican dace, ''Evarra bustamantei'' * Plateau chub, ''Evarra eigenmanni'' * Endorheic chub, ''Evarra tlahuacensis'' * Thicktail chub, ''Gila crassicauda'' * Pahranagat spinedace, ''Lepidomeda altivelis'' * Harelip sucker, ''Moxostoma lacerum'' * Durango shiner, ''Notropis aulidion'' * Phantom shiner, ''Notropis orca'' * Salado shiner, ''Notropis saladonis'' * Clear Lake splittail, ''Pogonichthys ciscoides'' * Las Vegas dace, ''Rhinichthys deaconi'' * Stumptooth minnow, ''Stypodon signifer'' * ''Telestes ukliva''

Notes

References

* (2005): The biogeography of otophysan fishes (Ostariophysi: Otophysi): a new appraisal. ''Journal of Biogeography, J. Biogeogr.'' 32(2): 287–294. (HTML abstract) * (2004a)
Family Balitoridae - River loaches
Version of 2004-NOV-22. Retrieved 2007-03-05. * (2004b)
Family Catostomidae - Suckers
Version of 2004-NOV-22. Retrieved 2007-03-05. * (2004c)
Family Cobitidae - Loaches
Version of 2004-NOV-22. Retrieved 2007-03-05. * (2004d)
Family Cyprinidae - Minnows or carps
Version of 2004-NOV-22. Retrieved 2007-03-05. * (2004e)
Family Gyrinocheilidae - Algae eaters
Version of 2004-NOV-22. Retrieved 2007-03-05. * (2004f)
Family Psilorhynchidae - Mountain carps
Version of 2004-NOV-22. Retrieved 2007-03-05. * (2005)
Order Summary for Cypriniformes
Version of 2005-FEB-15. Retrieved 2007-03-05. * (2006)

Retrieved 2007-03-05. * (2005)
Cyprinus carpio (Linnaeus, 1758)
Version of 2005-08-03. Retrieved 2007-05-03. * (2008): Phylogenetic position of the enigmatic genus ''Psilorhynchus'' (Ostariophysi: Cypriniformes): Evidence from the mitochondrial genome. ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol.'' 47: 419–425. (HTML abstract) * (1997): ''The Diversity of Fishes''. Blackwell Publishing. * (2007): ''[www.iucnredlist.org 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]''. * Kottelat, M. (2012)
Conspectus cobitidum: an inventory of the loaches of the world (Teleostei: Cypriniformes: Cobitoidei).
''The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Suppl. No. 26: 1-199.'' * (2006): ''Fishes of the World''. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. * [2007]: FishBase
''Tribolodon brandtii''
Retrieved 2007-03-05. * (2003): Mitochondrial Genomics of Ostariophysan Fishes: Perspectives on Phylogeny and Biogeography. ''Journal of Molecular Evolution, J. Mol. Evol.'' 56(4): 464–472. (HTML abstract) * (2018): Phylogenetic classification of extant genera of fishes of the order Cypriniformes (Teleostei: Ostariophysi). ''Zootaxa'' 4476(1): 006–039. (HTML abstract)

External links

Cypriniformes Tree of Life
{{Authority control Cypriniformes, Ray-finned fish orders Ostariophysi Fish of Africa Fish of Europe Fish of Asia Fish of North America Fish of Central America Extant Thanetian first appearances