Recognizing Asian Carp
Bighead carp (Image borrowed from http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-153-10364_18958-248641--,00.html)
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Silver carp (Image borrowed from http://www.invadingspecies.com/invaders/fish/asian-carp/)
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Asian carp would be incredibly nondescript-looking fish if it weren't for their one distinguishing feature, namely, those bizarre low-set eyes. Virtually all fish have their eyes set well above their jawline, but Asian carp eyes are down near the corner of their mouths. Other than that, though, Asian carp have the normal characteristics of the minnow family, to which they actually belong. Their minnow-ish characteristics include a body covered in scales, soft-rayed fins (no spines), and toothless jaws. That should not, however, be taken to mean they are small; while there are minnows only a couple inches long, there are also species like the thai barb that can top three hundred pounds.
Bighead and silver carp fall somewhere in the middle. In April of 2011, a Missouri fisherman snagged a state-record bighead carp four feet, eight inches long and weighing one hundred and six pounds (Low). That being said, few individuals reach such a size, and a fish between ten and twenty pounds would probably be considered average. Silver carp are significantly smaller, reaching a maximum size of perhaps seventy pounds and probably averaging less than ten.
Telling the two species apart can be somewhat difficult. The bighead carp does tend to be darker and more mottled, but the difference isn't always easily visible. Identification is further complicated by the fact that the two species sometimes interbreed (Lamer). However, distinguishing between the two of them is unlikely to be important, since in their ecological roles they are substantially similar.
This site was created by Joey Benevento in Emory University's Domain of One's Own Program as part of an English 212W class with Professor Marc Bousquet.
Bighead and silver carp fall somewhere in the middle. In April of 2011, a Missouri fisherman snagged a state-record bighead carp four feet, eight inches long and weighing one hundred and six pounds (Low). That being said, few individuals reach such a size, and a fish between ten and twenty pounds would probably be considered average. Silver carp are significantly smaller, reaching a maximum size of perhaps seventy pounds and probably averaging less than ten.
Telling the two species apart can be somewhat difficult. The bighead carp does tend to be darker and more mottled, but the difference isn't always easily visible. Identification is further complicated by the fact that the two species sometimes interbreed (Lamer). However, distinguishing between the two of them is unlikely to be important, since in their ecological roles they are substantially similar.
This site was created by Joey Benevento in Emory University's Domain of One's Own Program as part of an English 212W class with Professor Marc Bousquet.