Grass Carp
Juvenile
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Cypriniformes Family: Cyprinidae Subfamily: Cyprininae Genus: Ctenopharyngodon Species: C. idella
Binomial name
Ctenopharyngodon idella Valenciennes, 1844

The Grass Carp, (Ctenopharyngodon idella), also known as the White Amur, is a herbivorous, freshwater fish. It is cultivated in China for food but was introduced in the United States for aquatic weed control. It is a species of carp native to Siberia and northern China.^[1] The name White Amur derives from the Amur river, where the species is believed to originate. Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella ) - juvenile Downloaded from : [[1]] Credits : US Geological Survey - Florida Integrated Science Center, Gainesville Photo by Noel M. Burkhead File links The following pages link to this file: Grass carp Categories: USGS images | NowCommons ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... “Animalia” redirects here. ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Orders See text The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. ... Families Suborder Cobitoidea     Balitoridae (hillstream loaches)     Catostomidae (suckers)     Cobitidae (loaches)     Gyrinocheilidae (algae eaters) Suborder Cyprinoidea     Cyprinidae (carps and minnows) The Cypriniformes are an order of ray-finned fish, including the minnows and some related families. ... Genera (many, see text) The family Cyprinidae, named after the Greek word for goldfish, consists of the carps and minnows. ... Binomial name Ctenopharyngodon idella Valenciennes, 1844 The Grass Carp, (Ctenopharyngodon idella), also known as the White Amur, is a herbivorous, freshwater fish considered especially well suited for aquatic weed control. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. ... Achille Valenciennes (August 9, 1794 - April 13, 1865) was a French zoologist. ... In zoology, an herbivore is an animal that is adapted to eat primarily plants (rather than meat). ... For the village on the Isle of Wight, see Freshwater, Isle of Wight. ... A giant grouper at the Georgia Aquarium Fish are aquatic vertebrates that are typically cold-blooded; covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. ... Genera Abramis Aristichthys Barbodes Carassius Cirrhinus Ctenopharyngodon Cyprinus Epalzeorhynchos Henicorhynchus Hypophthalmichthys Labeo Mylopharyngodon and others Carp is a common name for various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fishes that dominates the fish faunas of Eurasia and North America. ... It has been suggested that Western Siberia be merged into this article or section. ... The Amur River (Russian: Амур; Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: , or Black Dragon River; Mayan; Mongolian: Хара-Мурэн, Khara-Muren or Black River; Manchu: Sahaliyan Ula, literal meaning Black River) is Earths eighth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Manchuria in China. ...

Appearance and anatomy

Grass Carp

White amur have an elongate, chubby body form that is torpedo shaped. The terminal mouth is slightly oblique with non-fleshy, firm lips, and no barbels.^[1] The complete lateral line contains 40 to 42 scales. Broad, ridged pharyngeal teeth are arranged in a 2, 4-4, 2 formula. The dorsal fin has 8 to 10 soft rays, and the anal fin is set closer to the tail than most cyprinids. Body color is dark olive, shading to brownish-yellow on the sides with a white belly and large slightly outlined scales. Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella ) Downloaded from : [[1]] Credits : US Geological Survey -- Florida Integrated Science Center, Gainesville File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella ) Downloaded from : [[1]] Credits : US Geological Survey -- Florida Integrated Science Center, Gainesville File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

The grass carp grows very rapidly, and young fish stocked in the spring at 20 cm (8 inches) will reach over 45 cm (18 inches) by fall, and adults often attain nearly 1.2 m (4 feet) in length and over 18 kg (70-90 pounds) in weight. They grow 10 pounds a year at least. They eat up to 3 times their own body weight daily.

Ecology

This species occurs in lakes, ponds, pools and backwaters of large rivers, preferring large, slow-flowing or standing water bodies with vegetation.^[1] In the wild, grass carp spawn on riverbeds in fast-moving rivers.^[1]

Adults of the species feed exclusively on aquatic plants. They feed on higher aquatic plants and and submerged grasses, but may also take detritus, insects, and other invertebrates.^[1] Detritus may refer to: In geology, detritus is the name for loose fragments of rock that have been worn away by erosion. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Invertebrate is a term that describes any animal without a spinal column. ...

Relationship to humans

The species was deliberately introduced into the United States in 1963 for aquatic weed control. It was introduced into New Zealand along with stocks of goldfish but the distribution is carefully controlled to prevent it from becoming a more widespread pest. Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Trinomial name Carassius auratus auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) For the baked snack crackers, please see Goldfish (snack). ...

When used for weed control, often the fish introduced to the pond or stream are sterile, triploid fish. The process for producing triploid fish involves shocking eggs with rapid change in temperature. The young are then tested for triploidy before being sold. Bait often consists of vegetables or fruits that are native to the area.^[2] Polyploidy refers to cells or organisms that contain more than two copies of each of their chromosomes. ...

These fish are also a food fish, and may be steamed, pan fried, broiled, or baked.^[1] Spaghetti with seafood (Spaghetti allo scoglio). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Pan frying is a form of frying characterized by the use of less cooking oil than deep frying; enough oil to, at most, to cover the food to be cooked only half way. ... Wikibooks Cookbook has more about this subject: Broiling Broiling is a process of cooking food with high heat with the heat applied directly to the food, most commonly from above. ... Wikibooks Cookbook has an article on Baking Baking is the technique of prolonged cooking of food by dry heat acting by conduction, and not by radiation, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot stones. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Ctenopharyngodon idella". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. May 2007 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2007.
2. ^ Triploid Grass Carp in New York Ponds. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

• Ctenopharyngodon idella (TSN 163537). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 11 March 2006.