Bighead carp: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the bighead carp lives – recorded in 11 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Hypophthalmichthys nobilis
Group	Bony fish
Status	Data deficient (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	11 countries
Continents	Asia, Europe, North America
Class	Ray-finned fish
Order	Cypriniformes
Family	Xenocyprididae

Where does the bighead carp live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the bighead carp in 11 countries and territories across Asia, Europe and North America. Wikidata gives its range as: People's Republic of China, Brazil, Yangtze River. In Switzerland, China, Germany, France, India, Netherlands, Serbia it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

United States
Germany (introduced)
Netherlands (introduced)
Serbia (introduced)
Israel
India (introduced)
Ukraine
Switzerland (introduced)
China (introduced)
Chinese Taipei
France (introduced)

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the bighead carp endangered?

The bighead carp’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Data deficient” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the bighead carp?

The bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) is a ray-finned fish in the order Cypriniformes and the family Xenocyprididae, genus Hypophthalmichthys. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the 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, with an annual worldwide production of over three million tonnes in 2013, principally from China. They are omnivores, consuming both algae and zooplankton.

Bighead carp, together with black carp, silver carp, and grass carp, make up the culturally important "four famous domestic fishes" used in polyculture in China for over a thousand years. It is widely farmed for food.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Bighead carp (revision 1370132120), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q754164 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).