''Hypophthalmichthys'' is a genus of large freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Xenocyprididae Xenocyprididae, is a family of freshwater ray-finned fishes commonly called the East Asian minnows or sharpbellies with a natural distribution in Asia. This taxon, sometimes spelt Xenocypridae, was previously regarded to be a subfamily, Xenocypri ...

, the East Asian minnows or sharpbellies. This genus contains three species. The name comes from

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

( 'below'), ( 'eye'), and ( 'fish'), thus 'fish with eyes below', referring to the fact that the fish has its eyes below the mouth line. Members of this genus are native to fresh water in East Asia, ranging from

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, but have been widely introduced outside their native range, where often considered invasive. Big head (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and silver carps (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) have been reaching the Illinois River system outside of Lake Michigan but have grown concerns of them likely being established in the Great Lakes. The reason is that stakeholders, such as fisheries, recreationists, and the fishing industry can be impacted economically and potentially decrease biodiversity or even extinction of these or other species. Environmental DNA has been used to monitor these species and look for positive eDNA detections and the presence of live organisms. The genus is also known as

Bighead carp The bighead carp (''Hypophthalmichthys nobilis'') is a species of cyprinid freshwater fish native to East Asia, and is one of several Asian carps introduced into North America. It is one of the most intensively exploited fishes in fish farming ...

, though that term is also used for individual species, particularly '' Hypophthalmichthys nobilis''. The Russian language has a special word for the genus - tolstolób(ik) (literally thickforehead).

Species

These are the currently recognized species in this genus * '' Hypophthalmichthys harmandi'' Sauvage, 1884 (Largescale silver carp) * '' Hypophthalmichthys molitrix'' (

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

, 1844) (Silver carp) * '' Hypophthalmichthys nobilis'' ( J. Richardson, 1845) (Bighead carp)

References

Xenocyprididae Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker Carp {{Xenocyprinae-stub