Squaliobarbinae is a small subfamily of 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 ...

and minnow family,

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 verte ...

, which consists of three monotypic genera which have their natural distributions in eastern Asia. Two species, the grass carp (''Ctenopharyngodon idella'') and the black carp (''Mylopharyngodon piceus''), have been introduced to other parts of the world for weed control and

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

. 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.

Genera

The three genera that make up the subfamily Squaliobarbinae are:

Taxonomy

Cyprinids are a large, widespread, and diverse family of mainly freshwater ray-finned fishes, and the taxonomy of the family has not yet been fully resolved.

Fishbase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

recognises the Squaliobarbinae as a valid subfamily, but recent studies suggest that this may not necessarily be the case. For example, the three genera of this subfamily have been placed in the larger subfamily Oxygasterinae, and Squaliobarbinae is listed as a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of Oxygasterinae. and the World Register of Marine Species treats all three taxa traditionally placed in the Squaliobarbinae as '' incertae sedis''. while the Catalog of Fishes places them in the subfamily Xenocyprinae. However, at whatever level they are classified the three squaliobarbine taxa appear to be closely related and to form a

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

. and have been referred to as the tribe Squaliobarbini.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15055209 Fish subfamilies