Common carp

Cyprinus carpio · The common carp is a widespread freshwater fish that lives in lakes and large rivers across Europe and Asia, and it has been introduced worldwide.

Also called European carp, Eurasian carp, Wild Common Carp, German carp, Mirror carp.

Common carp
Photo: Type17, CC BY 3.0
Common carp
Photo: Arden, CC BY 2.0
Common carp
Photo: Reinhold Möller Ermell, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderCypriniformes
FamilyCyprinidae
GenusCyprinus
SpeciesCyprinus carpio

Where it lives

Native from the Danube to Central Asia; introduced to fresh waters worldwide.

Fun facts

  • Carp can survive in water with very little oxygen by gulping air at the surface.
  • A typical adult female carp can lay 300,000 eggs in a single spawn.
  • The carp has no stomach, and it has no teeth in its mouth, but it crushes and grinds its food with 10 teeth in its throat.
  • The longest-lived common carp on record was a wild fish in North America that reached 64 years of age.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).