This document summarizes information about the common carp (Cyprinus carpio carpio). It is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List due to threats from habitat loss, pollution, and competition from invasive species. As an introduced species, it has been established around the world and is an important commercial fish for aquaculture and fisheries. It can grow over 1 meter in length and weigh over 40 kg.

1. Biology Glossary Search (e.g. epibenthic)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)
Vulnerable (VU) (A2ce)
Threat to humans
Potentialpest
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Cyprinus carpio carpio Linnaeus, 1758
Common carp
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Cyprinus carpio carpio
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Classification / Names
Actinopterygii(ray-finned fishes) > Cypriniformes (Carps) > Cyprinidae (Minnows or carps) > Cyprininae
Etymology:Cyprinus: Latin, cyprinus = carp (Ref. 45335); carpio carpio: carpio is the latinized formofcarp (Ref. 1998).
cyprinus is the old world name for the carp (Ref. 10294).
Commonnames | Synonyms | CatalogofFishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL
Main reference
Kottelat, M. and J. Freyhof. 2007. (Ref. 59043)
References | Coordinator | Collaborators
Size / Weight / Age
Maxlength:110 cmSLmale/unsexed; (Ref. 59043); commonlength:31.0 cmTLmale/unsexed; (Ref. 3561); max. published
weight:40.1 kg(Ref. 72380); max. reported age:38 years (Ref. 72479)
Length at first maturity
Lm 35.1, range 25 - ? cm
Environment
Freshwater; brackish; benthopelagic; pHrange:7.0 - 7.5; dHrange:10 - 15; potamodromous (Ref. 51243)
Climate / Range
Subtropical; 3°C - 35°C (Ref. 12741); 60°N - 40°N
Distribution
Europe toAsia:Black, CaspianandAralSea basins. Introduced throughout the world. Wild stocks are onlypresent naturallyin
rivers drainingto the Black, CaspianandAralSea (Ref. 59043). Areophilic wild populationinthe Danube is assumed to be the
originofthe Europeanspecies; this populationis nowunder threat (Ref. 13696).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions
Short description
Dorsalspines (total):3 - 4; Dorsalsoft rays (total):17-23; Analspines:2-3; Analsoft rays:5 - 6; Vertebrae:36 - 37.
Diagnosed fromother cyprinid species inEurope byhavingthe followingcharacters:2 pairs ofbarbels; dorsalfinwith15-20½
branched rays; caudalfindeeplyemarginate (Ref. 59043). Pharyngealteeth1, 1, 3:3, 1,1, robust, molar-like withcrown
flattened or somewhat furrowed. Scales large and thick. `Wild carp ' is generallydistinguished byits less stockybuild withheight
ofbody1:3.2-4.8 instandard length. Veryvariable inform, proportions, squamation, development offins, and color. Caudalfin
with3 spines and 17-19 rays (Ref. 2196). Last simple analraybonyand serrated posteriorly; 4 barbels; 17-20 branched
dorsalrays; bodygreyto bronze (Ref. 43281). Also Ref. 3398, 3410.
Adults inhabit warm, deep, slow-flowingand stillwaters suchas lowland rivers and large, wellvegetated lakes (Ref. 59043).
Hardyand tolerant ofa wide varietyofconditions but generallyfavor large water bodies withslowflowingor standingwater
and soft bottomsediments. Thrive inlarge turbid rivers (Ref. 1998). Most active at dusk and dawn. Bothadults and juveniles
feed ona varietyofbenthic organisms and plant material. Spawns alongshores or inbackwaters. Adults oftenundertake
considerable spawningmigrationto suitable backwaters and flooded meadows. Larvae survive onlyinverywarmwater among
shallowsubmerged vegetation. River regulationand hybridizationwithdomesticated stocks, EastAsiancongeners and their
hybrids have caused continuous decline ofwild populations (Ref. 59043). Utilized freshand frozen(Ref. 9987). Aquarium
keeping:ingroups of5 or more individuals; minimumaquariumsize >200 cm; not recommended for home aquariums (Ref.
51539).
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2. Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration
Commonnames
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Eggdevelopment
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larvaldynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion
Entered byLuna, SusanM.
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Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
Moderate vulnerability(40 of100)
Price category (Ref. 80766)
Unknown
Human uses
Fisheries:highlycommercial; aquaculture:commercial; gamefish:yes; aquarium:commercial
FAO(Aquaculture:production, fisheries:production) | FisheriesWiki| SeaAround Us |
More information
Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps and coins
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gillarea
Otoliths
Brains
Vision
Tools
Bio-Quiz| E-book | Field guide | Identificationkeys | Length-frequencywizard | Life-historytool| Point map | Classification
Tree | Catch-MSY|
Special reports
Check forAquariummaintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check forAquaculture Fact Sheets
Download XML
Summarypage | Point data | Commonnames | Photos
Internet sources
Alien/Invasive Species database | BHL| BOLDSystems | Check for other websites | Check FishWatcher | CISTI |
DiscoverLife | ECOTOX| FAO(Aquaculture:species profile; fisheries:species profile; publication:search) | GenBank(genome,
nucleotide) | GOBASE| Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFAWorld Record | iSpecies | Nationaldatabases |
Public aquariums | PubMed | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree ofLife | uBio | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater
Fishing| ZoologicalRecord | Fishtrace
Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
PD50 = 0.5000 manyrelatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 fewrelatives (e.g. lungfishes)
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
3.0 s.e. 0.3 Based ondiet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278)
Medium, minimumpopulationdoublingtime 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.10-0.30; tm=1-3; tmax=20; Fec=36,000-2,000,000)
Modified byLuna, SusanM.
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