| ||Cyprinus cirrosus Schaeffer, 1760|
| ||Cyprinus viri-violaceus Lacepède, 1803, Cyprinus rubrofuscus and Cyprinus nigroaur
| ||Cyprinus cirrosus Schaeffer, 1760|
| ||Cyprinus viri-violaceus Lacepède, 1803, Cyprinus rubrofuscus and Cyprinus nigroauratus.|
| ||Cyprinus vittatus Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1842|
| ||Cyprinus conirostris Schelegel, 1842, and Cyprinus haematopterus.|
| ||Cyprinus acuminatus Richardson, 1846, Cyprinus sculponeatus, Cyprinus flamm and Cyprinus atrovirens.|
| ||Cyprinus melanotus Schelegel, 1846|
| ||Carpio vulgaris Rapp, 1854|
| ||Cyprinus chinensis Basilewsky, 1855|
| ||Carpio flavipinna Bleeker, 1863|
| ||Cyprinus tossicole Elera, 1895|
|En - Common carp, Fr - Carpe commune, Sp - Carpa común.|
3Alpha Code: FCP Taxonomic Code: 1400200201|
|Body elongated and somewhat compressed. Lips thick. Two pairs of barbels at angle of mouth, shorter ones on the upper lip.
Dorsal fin base long with 17-22 branched rays and a strong, toothed spine in front; dorsal fin outline concave anteriorly. Anal fin with 6-7 soft rays; posterior edge of 3rd dorsal and anal fin spines with sharp spinules.
Lateral line with 32 to 38 scales.
Pharyngeal teeth 5:5, teeth with flattened crowns.
Colour variable, wild carp are brownish-green on the back and upper sides, shading to golden yellow ventrally. The fins are dusky, ventrally with a reddish tinge. Golden carp are bred for ornamental purposes.
|European lakes and rivers. It has been widely introduced to other parts of the world (North America, southern Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Asia).|
|Habitat and Biology|
|The natural conditions that suit carp are lowland lakes and rivers where there is abundant vegetation to provide food and shelter.They thrive in warm-water conditions, and require temperatures of at least 18º C to spawn.
Consequently the success of populations introduced to northern Europe and the British Isles is dependent on warm weather during spring and summer.Omnivorous, feeds mainly on bottom-living insect larvae, small snails, crustaceans, and some vegetable matter. They are most active at night, and feed little at low temperatures. The diet of the young includes small planktonic crustaceans, but the larvae, after they have utilized the yolk from the egg, feed on minute rotifers and algae, and the young stages of water-fleas.|
|Growth is variable with local conditions. In south-eastern Europe (where conditions are optimum) an average length of 51-61 cm an weight of 1.8-4.5 kg is attained; in northern Europe it is rather less. A maximum weight of 32 kg is recorded (Italy, 1886