Chinese black roach
The black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) or Chinese black roach is a species of cyprinid freshwater fish and the sole extant species of the genus Mylopharyngodon. It is native to lakes and rivers in East Asia, ranging from the Amur Basin across China to Vietnam. One of the largest cyprinids in the world, the black carp has a typical length of 60–120 cm (23.5–47 in), though it can reach up to 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in) in length and 109 kg (240 lb) in weight. It is carnivorous and generally feeds on invertebrates such as snails, clams and mussels.
Black carp, together with bighead carp, silver carp, and grass carp, make up the culturally important "four famous domestic fishes" used in polyculture in China for over a thousand years. It has also been introduced in the United States as one of the invasive "Asian carps", though it is not as widely distributed worldwide as the other three.
In China, black carp is widely cultivated for food and Chinese medicine, being one of the most highly esteemed and expensive domestic food fish, and partly because of its diet and limited food supply, is the most scarce and expensive in the marketplace among the "four famous domestic fishes".
Generic name from Greek mylo- "mill" + New Latin pharynx- "throat" + Greek odon "tooth". Specific name from Latin piceus "pitch-black."
Ov
OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Mi
MigratingAnimal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migrati...
B
starts withBlack carp are elongated fish with a fusiform body. They appear dusky gray, brown or bluish black and have dark fins. Their dorsal fin is high and pointed. In comparison to grass carp, the distances from the eye to the superior and inferior edges of the pre-operculum are respectively longer, contributing to the elongate appearance of the scaleless head. Unlike in grass carp, the upper lip does not appear to protrude beyond the lower lip when viewed from above with the fish's mouth closed. Black carp have large cycloid scales on their body and a forked tail fin behind a broad caudal peduncle.
Black carp have enameloid teeth located in the posterior pharynx between the cleithral bones. There are four teeth on the left side and five teeth on the right side of the pharynx in adults. As the black carp prepare to crush shelled prey, they forcibly occlude their pharyngeal teeth. A horny patch above the pharyngeal teeth helps to position and hold the prey in place as it is crushed. The pharyngeal teeth will be replaced multiple times during the life of the carp.
