Ctenopharyngodon idella (Valenciennes, 1844)

Çiçek, Erdoğan, Jawad, Laith, Eagderi, Soheil, Esmaeili, Hamid Reza, Mouludi-Saleh, Atta, Sungur, Sevil & Fricke, Ronald, 2023, Freshwater fishes of Iraq: a revised and updated annotated checklist- 2023, Zootaxa 5357 (1), pp. 1-49 : 19

Ctenopharyngodon idella (Valenciennes, 1844) [I] — Grass carp

Taxonomy. Original description: Leuciscus idella Valenciennes, 1844: 362 ( China; no types known).— Iraq synonyms: None.—Revisions: Berg (1949: 597).—Illustration: Berg (1949: 598, fig. 353).

Status in Iraq. Introduced by the Government of Iraq in 1968 to culture it in ponds ( Coad, 2010); confirmed by Al-Faisal et al. (2014).—Iraq materials: None.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Iraq: Introduce somewhere.—General distribution: East Asia: China and Russia; widely introduced elsewhere.—Habitat: This species conducts its spawning and overwintering in middle and lower stretches of large floodplain rivers (below 1,000 m altitude), within lakes, reservoirs, and backwaters during feeding season, preferring warm, clear water and high oxygen concentration. It is tolerant of a wide range of environmental variables. Freshwater.

Economic importance. Commercially important.

Reasons of introduction. Bio-control: to prevent eutrophication, aquatic plants, and pest control.

Conservation. Not relevant (introduced species).