Posted by RONIT on April 25, 2013, 8:55 a.m.
This article is about the ornamental fish. For other uses, see Goldfish (disambiguation).
| Goldfish | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conservation status | |
Domesticated | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Cyprinidae |
| Genus: | Carassius |
| Species: | C. auratus[1] |
| Subspecies: | C. a. auratus |
| Trinomial name | |
| Carassius auratus auratus[2] (Linnaeus, 1758) | |
The goldfish (Carassius auratus auratus) is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated, and is one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish.
A relatively small member of the carp family (which also includes the koi carp and the crucian carp), the goldfish is a domesticated version of a less-colorful carp (Carassius auratus) native to east Asia. It was first domesticated in China more than a thousand years ago, and several distinct breeds have since been developed. Goldfish breeds vary greatly in size, body shape, fin configuration and coloration (various combinations of white, yellow, orange, red, brown, and black are known