Goldfish

This article is about the fish species. For other uses, see Goldfish (disambiguation).

Goldfish
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Subfamily: Cyprininae
Genus: Carassius
Species:
C. auratus
Binomial name
Carassius auratus
Synonyms
List of synonyms
    • Carassius discolor (Basilewsky, 1855)
    • Carassius burgeri (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846)
    • Carassius coeruleus (Basilewsky, 1855)
    • Carassius encobia (Bonaparte, 1845)
    • Carassius grandoculis (Temminck & Schlegel, 1846)
    • Carassius pekinensis (Basilewsky, 1855)
    • Cyprinus auratus (Linnaeus, 1758)
    • Cyprinus gibelioides (Cantor, 1842)
    • Cyprinus mauritianus (Bennett, 1832)
    • Cyprinus chinensis (Gronow, 1854)
    • Cyprinus maillardi (Guichenot)
    • Cyprinus nigrescens (Günther, 1868)
    • Cyprinus thoracatus (Valenciennes 1842)
    • Neocarassius ventricosus (Castelnau, 1872)
Goldfish
Chinese金鱼
Literal meaning"gold fish"
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinjīnyú
Feral goldfish found in Essex County, Ontario.
Carassius auratus by Alexander Francis Lydon.

The goldfish (Carassius auratus) is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It is commonly kept as a pet in indoor aquariums, and is one of the most popular aquarium fish. Goldfish released into the wild have become an invasive pest in parts of North America and Australia.[4][5]

Native to China, the goldfish is a relatively small member of the carp family (which also includes the Prussian carp and the crucian carp). It was first selectively bred for color in imperial China more than 1,000 years ago, where several distinct breeds were developed. Goldfish breeds vary greatly in size, body shape, fin configuration, and coloration (various combinations of white, yellow, orange, red, brown, and black are known).

  1. ^ Huckstorf, V.; Freyhof, J. (2013). "Carassius auratus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T166083A1110472. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T166083A1110472.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. ^ "USGS-NAS, Non-indigenous Aquatic Species". Retrieved 2015-04-29.
  3. ^ "Carassius auratus (Linnaeus, 1758)". Fishbase. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
  4. ^ Helmore, Edward (12 July 2021). "Goldfish dumped in lakes grow to monstrous size, threatening ecosystems". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021.
  5. ^ Lynch, Jacqueline (2024-04-23). "Ozfish volunteers trap dumped pet goldfish from Vasse River amid concerns about water quality". ABC News. Retrieved 2024-04-27.