Carassius

Carassius
The naga-buna, a close relative of the goldfish
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Cypriniformes
Family:	Cyprinidae
Subfamily:	Cyprininae
Genus:	Carassius Nilsson, 1832

Carassius is a genus in the ray-finned fish family Cyprinidae. Many species in this genus are commonly known as crucian carps, though this term often specifically refers to C. carassius. The most well known is the goldfish (C. auratus), which was bred from the Prussian carp (C. gibelio). They have a Eurasian distribution, apparently originating further to the west than the typical carps (Cyprinus), which include the common carp (C. carpio).

Species of Carassius are not particularly close relatives of the typical carps of Cyprinus, but rather form a more basal lineage of the subfamily Cyprininae.

†Note that Fishbase listing of common names identification is not consistient with Japan's Regional Red List. Fishbase for C. a. auratus lists kinbuna, and for C. a. buergeri both naga-buna and okin-buna (ōkin-buna).

For the use of the European species, see Crucian carp.

The native Chinese Carassius subspecies called ji (鯽魚), C. auratus auratus), is a different species from the European, but for most practical purposes, it is classed as "crucian carp" in a typical Chniese-English dictionary, including . For convenience, it will be denoted the "Chinese crucian".

Although the Chinese crucian can be raised as pets, it is also farmed and commonly used in Chinese cuisine. Despite being reputedly bony, the fish is easy to raise and relatively cheap, so are often deep-fried as part of a worker's meal.

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Wikipedia