Main Characteristics of the Carp Family

• There are 4,300 species of carp fish, a highly diverse group.
• The carp family is called cyprinid family.
• The most well-known include carp, goldfish, zebra fish, white cloud mountain minnow, grass carp, and clown loach.
• Cyprinid fish inhabit freshwater environments.
• They're different from many other fish because they only have one dorsal fin.
• Cyprinid fish (along with perciformes) don't possess "normal" teeth. Instead, they have what are called pharyngeal teeth in their pharyngeal arches, which help them crush their food.
• The largest cyprinid fish is the giant barb, which can grow up to 10 feet (3 meters) long and weigh as much as 300 kilograms.
• The smallest cyprinid fish is Paedocypris progenetica, which is only 0.3 inches (7.9 mm) long.

Species List