Update to the “Minnow” Species (Families Cyprinidae, Xenocyprididae, and Leuciscidae) Diversity in North Carolina

By the NCFishes.com Team The recognition by ichthyologists of Koi , Cyprinus rubrofuscus, as a separate species from Common Carp, Cyprinus carpio, its distribution across North Carolina, and the posting of the blog on Koi (https://ncfishes.com/koi-cyprinus-rubrofuscus-lacepede-in-north-carolina/) necessitated an update to the Identification Key to the Barbs and Carps, Asian Carps, and Minnows (Families Cyprinidae, Leuciscidae, … Read more

Koi, Cyprinus rubrofuscus Lacepède, in North Carolina

By the NCFishes.com Team Common Carp, Cyprinus carpio (Figure 1), has swum in North Carolina’s waters since 1879 (Smith 1907). A long-held belief was that ornamental Koi (Figure 2) was merely a much-varied color morph of Common Carp. However, during post-processing of a photograph taken by the NCFishes team, we discovered that Koi are now … Read more

“Minnow” Species Diversity in North Carolina

“Minnow” Species (Families Cyprinidae, Xenocyprididae, and Leuciscidae) Diversity in North Carolina By the NCFishes.com Team Next to our native darters (Family Percidae), our native species of minnows rival the brightly colored tropical fishes one would find in your local or big-box pet store, yet few people are aware of their existence. You might have heard … Read more