- Giant barb
Taxobox
name = Giant barb
status = CR
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Chordata
classis =Actinopterygii
ordo =Cypriniformes
familia =Cyprinidae
genus = "Catlocarpio "
species = "C. siamensis"
binomial = "Catlocarpio siamensis"
binomial_authority = (Boulenger, 1898)The giant barb or Siamese giant carp, "Catlocarpio siamensis", is the largest species of
carp in the world. These migratory fish are found only in theMae Klong ,Mekong andChao Phraya river basins. This fish is a desirable food fish, which may have caused a serious decline in its numbers.FishBase species | genus = Catlocarpio | species = siamensis | year = 2007 | month = Mar ]Distribution and Habitat
They are usually seen in the big pools along the edges of large rivers, but will seasonally enter smaller
canal s,floodplain s and flooded forests. Young barbs are usually found in smallertributaries andswamp s, but can acclimatize to living inpond s,canal s andswamp s.These are migratory fish, swimming to favorable areas for feeding and breeding in different parts of the year. These slow-moving fish subsist on
algae ,phytoplankton andfruit s of inundated terrestrialplant s, rarely (if ever) feeding on activeanimal s. In the lowerMekong basin, young giant barbs have been reported as occurring primarily in October.Physical Characteristics
The head is rather large for the body. There are no barbels.
The giant barb ranks among the largest freshwater fish in the world and is probably the largest fish in the family
Cyprinidae .Nelson, Joseph S. (2006). "Fishes of the World". John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0471250317] Few individuals are under 1½ m (5 ft) and 45 kg (100 lb). Large examples of this species can be 3 m (10 ft) and 300 kg (660 lb). Among thecarp s, only theMahseer reached comparable dimensions, but largemahseer s have only been recorded in centuries past.This fish is actually
tetraploid , meaning that it has four of each chromosome (as opposed todiploid , the normal number in animals).Conservation Status
These fish have been reported as heavily depleted, mainly because they are locally regarded as a delicacy. Few barbs, whether due to human predation or natural predation, live to maturity. However, they are not listed as in the
IUCN Red List .. Only ten fish were caught in 2000, according to theMekong River Commission .Notes
External links
* [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/photogalleries/giant-fishes/photo10.html Photo in National Geographic of a large specimen]
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