PrussianCarp,
Carassiusgibelio
, fromGermany
CrucianCarp,
Carassiuscarassius
(population fromGörlitz,Germany)
NEWS102
17
different fin rayandgill raker counts.
When the gibel carp became recognised
as a species in its own right, i.e.
C. gibelio
,
most people then assumed that the
goldfish, too, was a full species, i.e.
C.
auratus
.However,thesituation isnotquite
as straightforwardas this.
The wide distribution of the goldfish,
along with its in-built ‘plasticity’, which
results in slightly different forms
depending on location and conditions,
has resulted in numerous ‘species’ and
‘subspecies’ being described over the
years. In fact, by 1945, there were 42
different official descriptions of the
goldfish and goldfish-type fishes! Since
then, these have been systematically
reduced to just four species,oneofwhich,
C. auratus
, is subdivided into five
subspecies.
If this latest trend is correct…and if we
feel able toaccept it andwant tobe really
up to date…we should therefore be
recognising the common goldfish as a
subspecies:
C.auratusauratus
.
The full current FishBase listing for
Carassius
is:
C.
auratus
argenteaphthalmus
(No
commonname)
C.auratusauratus
(Goldfish,Kin-buna*)
C. auratus buergeri
