Hypophthalmichthys

Hypophthalmichthys is a genus of large freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Xenocyprididae, the East Asian minnows or sharpbellies.^[1] This genus contains three species. The name comes from Greek ὑπό (hypó 'below'), ὀφθαλμός (ophthalmós 'eye'), and ἰχθῦς (ichthŷs 'fish'), thus 'fish with eyes below', referring to the fact that the fish has its eyes below the mouth line.^[2]

Phylum:Chordata

Class:Actinopterygii

Division:Teleostei

Order:Cypriniformes

Quick facts Scientific classification, Type species ...

Hypophthalmichthys
Bighead carp
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Division:	Teleostei
Order:	Cypriniformes
Family:	Xenocyprididae
Genus:	Hypophthalmichthys Bleeker, 1860[1]
Type species
Leuciscus molitrix Valenciennes, 1844[1]
Species
see text
Synonyms[1]
Abramocephalus Steindachner, 1869 Aristichthys Ōshima, 1919 Cephalus Basilewsky, 1855 Onychodon Dybowski, 1872

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Members of this genus are native to fresh water in East Asia, ranging from Siberia to Vietnam, but have been widely introduced outside their native range, where often considered invasive. Bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) were initially introduced in the southern Mississippi River basin but have been observed as far north as the Illinois River system outside of Lake Michigan. There are growing concerns of them becoming established in the Great Lakes,^[3] where stakeholders, such as fisheries, recreationists, and the fishing industry may be impacted economically, due to a potential decrease in biodiversity or even extinctions of species inhabiting the lakes. Environmental DNA has been used to monitor these species and look for positive eDNA detections and the presence of live organisms.^[4] Besides the Latin name, the genus is also known as tolstolob in the Russian language.