''Cyprinus'' is the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of typical carps in family

Cyprinidae 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 t ...

. Most species in the genus are of East Asia origin with only the

common carp The common carp (''Cyprinus carpio''), also known as European carp, Eurasian carp, or simply carp, is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia.Fishbase''Cyprinus carpio'' Linnaeus, 1758/ref>Ark ...

(''C. carpio'') in Western Asia and Europe; this

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

has also been introduced to many other regions around the world. ''Cyprinus'' are closely related to some more

barb Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to: People * Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves * The Barbs, a band Places * Barb, ...

-like genera, such as '' Cyclocheilichthys'' and ''

Barbonymus ''Barbonymus'' is a ray-finned fish genus in the family Cyprinidae, containing some barb species. The genus was only established in 1999, with the tinfoil barb (''B. schwanenfeldii'') as type species; thus, these fish are sometimes collectively ...

'' (tinfoils). The crucian carps ('' Carassius'') of western

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

, which include the

goldfish The goldfish (''Carassius auratus'') is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of the 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 w ...

(''C. auratus''), are apparently not as closely related. This genus's most widespread and well-known member is the common carp (''C. carpio'')

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

. Although traditionally considered a single species, recent authorities have split the European and West Asian populations from the East Asian, with the latter named '' C. rubrofuscus'' ( syn. ''C. carpio haematopterus''). Members of the species complex are famed as a

food fish Many species of fish are caught by humans and consumed as food in virtually all regions around the world. Their meat has been an important dietary source of protein and other nutrients in the human diet. The English language does not have a s ...

and have been widely traded and introduced since antiquity, but in certain areas has multiplied inordinately and become a pest. In its long use it has been

domesticated Domestication is a multi-generational mutualistic relationship in which an animal species, such as humans or leafcutter ants, takes over control and care of another species, such as sheep or fungi, to obtain from them a steady supply of reso ...

, and a number of

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

s have been developed for food and other purposes. The koi (from Japanese ''nishikigoi'', 錦鯉) are well-known carp breeds,

selectively bred Selective breeding (also called artificial selection) is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits (characteristics) by choosing which typically animal or plant ma ...

for being enjoyed by spectators from above. Strictly speaking, ''koi'' is simply the Japanese name of the East Asian carp. The other

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of typical carp are generally found in more restricted areas of eastern

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, centered on the

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

region. In some cases, they are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to a single

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

, most notably Lake Erhai, as well as Lake Dian, Fuxian Lake, Lake Jilu, Lake Qilihu, Lake Xingyun and Lake Yi-Lung, which are all in Yunnan proper. Several of these species are seriously threatened and five are possibly already

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

: '' C. yilongensis'' (Lake Yi-Lung), '' C. yunnanensis'' (Lake Qilihu), '' C. daliensis'' (Lake Erhai), '' C. megalophthalmus'' (Lake Erhai) and '' C. fuxianensis'' (Fuxian Lake).Wang, Wang, Li, Du, Yang, Lassoie, and Hassan (2013). ''Six decades of changes in vascular hydrophyte and fish species in three plateau lakes in Yunnan, China.'' Biodivers. Conserv. 22: 3197–3221. doi: 10.1007/s10531-013-0579-0

Species

The following species are currently recognized in the genus. * '' Cyprinus acutidorsalis'' H. L. Chen & H. Q. Huang, 1977 * '' Cyprinus barbatus'' H. L. Chen & H. Q. Huang, 1977 * '' Cyprinus carpio''

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the starting point of modern zoologic ...

* '' Cyprinus chilia'' H. W. Wu, G. R. Yang, P. Q. Yue & H. J. Huang, 1963 * '' Cyprinus dai'' ( V. H. Nguyễn & L. H. Doan, 1969) * '' Cyprinus daliensis'' H. L. Chen & H. Q. Huang, 1977 * '' Cyprinus exophthalmus'' Đ. Y. Mai, 1978 * '' Cyprinus fuxianensis'' Yang et al., 1977 * '' Cyprinus hieni'' T. T. Nguyen & A. T. Ho, 2003 * '' Cyprinus hyperdorsalis'' V. H. Nguyễn, 1991 * '' Cyprinus ilishaestomus'' H. L. Chen & H. Q. Huang, 1977 * '' Cyprinus intha'' Annandale, 1918 * ''

Cyprinus longipectoralis ''Cyprinus longipectoralis'' is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus '' Cyprinus''. It is endemic to Lake Erhai in Dali, Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximate ...

'' H. L. Chen & H. Q. Huang, 1977 * '' Cyprinus longzhouensis'' Y. J. Yang & H. Q. Huang, 1977 * '' Cyprinus megalophthalmus'' H. W. Wu et al., 1963 * '' Cyprinus melanes'' ( Đ. Y. Mai, 1978) * '' Cyprinus micristius'' Regan, 1906 * '' Cyprinus multitaeniatus'' Pellegrin & Chevey, 1936 * '' Cyprinus pellegrini'' T. L. Tchang, 1933 * '' Cyprinus qionghaiensis'' C. H. Liu, 1981 * '' Cyprinus quidatensis'' T. T. Nguyen, V. T. Le, T. B. Le & X. K. Nguyễn, 1999 * '' Cyprinus rubrofuscus'' Lacépède, 1803 Cyprinus rubrofuscus Bleeker

* †'' Cyprinus yilongensis'' Yang et al., 1977 * '' Cyprinus yunnanensis'' T. L. Tchang, 1933

Fossil species

* †'' Cyprinus priscus'' von Meyer (fossil species from Miocene Germany)

Footnotes

References

* (2007): Evolutionary origin of Lake Tana's (Ethiopia) small ''Barbus'' species: indications of rapid ecological divergence and speciation. '' Anim. Biol.'' 57(1): 39–48. (HTML abstract) {{Authority control Cyprininae Carp Fauna of Yunnan Extant Miocene first appearances Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Freshwater fish genera