Cyprinidae

Cyprinidae [sī′prin·ə‚dē]

(vertebrate zoology)

The largest family of fishes, including minnows and carps in the order Cypriniformes.

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Cyprinidae 

a family of fishes of the order Cypriniformes. The body is scaleless or covered with cycloid scales. There are approximately 200 genera and more than 1,000 species. In the USSR there are more than 50 genera. Cyprinids are freshwater migratory fishes; they are found throughout the world, except for South America, Australia, and Madagascar. They are the most abundant fauna in the USSR, Southern Asia, and tropical Africa. In the USSR, cyprinids are found in the Amur River and in the basins of the Black, Azov, and Caspian seas. They dwell in cold rapid waters and also in very warm waters that are poorly oxygenated. Their eggs are usually deposited on vegetation. Some species lay eggs on sand and rocks; others simply deposit them in deep water. The Amur false gudgeon (Pseudogobio rivularis) and the Chinese chebachok (Pseudorasbora parva) guard their eggs.

Many cyprinids have commercial importance, such as the North Caspian roach (Rutilus rutilus caspicus), the European bream (Abramis brama), and the carp (Cyprinus carpio). Some species, including the carp and the crucian carp (Carassius carassius) are raised and bred in ponds. The domesticated carp, grasscarp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), black carp (Mylopharyngo-don piceus), bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis), and the silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) have been adapted to waters in the European USSR, Middle Asia, Rumania, Poland, Cuba, and the German Democratic Republic.

A. A. SVETOVIDOVA