Cyprinidae
| Cyprinidae Temporal range: Eocene - Holocene |
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| The common carp, Cyprinus carpio | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Superclass: | Osteichthyes |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Subclass: | Neopterygii |
| Infraclass: | Teleostei |
| Superorder: | Ostariophysi |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Superfamily: | Cyprinioidea |
| Family: | Cyprinidae |
| Subfamilies | |
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Acheilognathinae |
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Acheilognathinae
Barbinae
Cultrinae
Cyprininae
Danioninae
Gobioninae
Hypophthalmichthyinae
Labeoninae (disputed)
Leuciscinae
Psilorhynchinae
Rasborinae (polyphyletic?)
Squaliobarbinae (disputed)
Tincinae
and see text
The Cyprinidae are the family of freshwater fishes, collectively called cyprinids, that includes the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives (for example, the barbs and barbels). Also commonly called the "carp family," or "minnow family," Cyprinidae is the largest known fish family and the largest vertebrate animal family in general, with about 3,000 living and extinct species in about 370 genera. The family belongs to the ostariophysian order Cypriniformes, of whose genera and species the cyprinids make more than two-thirds. The family name is derived from the Ancient Greek kyprînos (κυπρῖνος, "carp").
Cyprinids are stomachless fish with toothless jaws. Even so, food can be effectively chewed by the gill rakers of the specialized last gill bow. These pharyngeal teeth allow the fish to make chewing motions against a chewing plate formed by a bony process of the skull. The pharyngeal teeth are species-specific and are used by specialists to determine species. Strong pharyngeal teeth allow fish such as the common carp and ide to eat hard baits such as snails and bivalves.
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Wikipedia