Nutritional Freshwater Life
138
Cyprinus carpio communis Linnaeus
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Common name: Scale carp.
Distribution: Native species of temperate region of Asia, especially
China; introduced as a cultivated
carp species throughout the world
(Mohsin, 2012).
Habitat: Ponds, rivers, lakes, canals,
beels, baors, etc., both open and closed
water bodies.
Description: In this variety of common
carp, body is elongated and head is
comparatively very small. Dorsal of
body is very convex and abdomen is
bulky. Body is compressed and snout is
rounded. Whole body is covered with
moderately sized, regular concentric
scales. Abdomen is rounded. Dorsal
side is brownish. It is an omnivorous
bottom feeder on the larvae of insects,
worms, and molluscs, and stalks and
leaves of submerged plants and occasionally on zooplankton (Zakia, 2014;
Santhanam et al., 1987).
Cyprinus carpio specularis Lacepede 1803
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Common name: Mirror carp.
Distribution: Native carp of Europe;
introduced to Bangladesh from Nepal
for aquaculture purposes (Rahman,
2005).
Habitat: Rivers, floodplains, and culturable ponds.
Description: This variety is characterized by the presence of large, shiny,
scattered scales running along the side
of the body in several rows with the rest
of the body naked. It is an omnivorous
bottom feeder on the larvae of insects,
worms, and molluscs, and stalks and
leaves of submerged plants and occasionally on zooplankton (Chumchal,
2002; Santhanam et al., 1987).
Nutritional Facts
Proximate Composition (% WW)
Moisture Protein Fat Ash
C. carpio
communis
76.14
16.60 3.58 2.10
C. carpio
specularis
77.46
14.63 3.80 2.02
Source: Data from Ganai (2012).