Grass carp
Ctenopharyngodon idella (Valenciennes, 1844)
Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) is a bony fish in the family Cyprinidae, subfamily Xenocypridinae, within the order Cypriniformes. Other English names for the grass carp are Mud carp, Grasscarp, White Amur, Silver orfe and Chinese grass carp.
Quick facts about the grass carp
Its scientific name authority is (Valenciennes, 1844), and it belongs to the genus Ctenopharyngodon in the class Teleostei. The IUCN Red List assesses the grass carp globally as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- freshwater, riverine, wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the grass carp
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the grass carp live?
Not recorded
What is the grass carp?
The grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) is a species of large herbivorous freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae, native to the Pacific Far East, with a native range stretching from northern Vietnam to the Amur River on the Sino-Russian border. This Asian carp is the only species of the genus Ctenopharyngodon.
Grass carp are resident fish of large turbid rivers and associated floodplain lakes/wetlands with a wide range of temperature tolerance, and spawn at temperatures of 20 to 30 °C (68 to 86 °F). It has been cultivated as a food fish in China for centuries, being known as one of the "Four Great Domestic Fish" (Chinese: 四大家鱼), but was later introduced to Europe and the United States for aquatic weed control, becoming the fish species with the largest reported farmed production globally, over five million tonnes per year.
From the Wikipedia article “Grass carp” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grass_carp&oldid=1376204552), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the grass carp endangered?
The grass carp is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the grass carp classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderCypriniformes
- familyCyprinidae
- genusCtenopharyngodon
- SpeciesCtenopharyngodon idella (Valenciennes, 1844)
Synonyms Ctenopharingodon idella, Ctenopharingodon idellus, Ctenopharygodon idella, Ctenopharyngodon idellos, Ctenopharyngodon idellus, Ctenopharyngodon idellus, Ctenopharyngodon laticeps, Leuciscus idella, Leuciscus idellus, Leuciscus tschiliensis, Pristiodon siemionovii, Sarcocheilichthys teretiusculus
Other names and names in other languages (66)
- Chinese grass carpEnglish
- GrasscarpEnglish
- Mud carpEnglish
- Silver orfeEnglish
- White AmurEnglish
- GraskarpAfrikaans
- شبوط الحشائشArabic
- مبروك الحشائشArabic
- مبروكة العاديةArabic
- Белы амурBelarusian
- Бял амурBulgarian
- amur bílýCzech
- græskarpeDanish
- GraskarpfenGerman
- Gras KarpfenGerman
- Χορτοφάγος κυπρίνοςGreek
- ΚυπρίνοςGreek
- Caballo locoSpanish
- carpa herbívoraSpanish
- ValgeamuurEstonian
- ruohokarppiFinnish
- Amour blancFrench
- Carpe amourFrench
- carpe de roseauFrench
- carpe herbivoreFrench
- Amur / амурSerbian (Latin)
- אמור לבןHebrew
- amurHungarian
- Amur (hal)Hungarian
- Carpa erbivoraItalian
- ソウギョJapanese
- ہِلہِ گاڈKashmiri
- Trey srokchenKhmer
- 초 어Korean
- قاشنە (Qaşine)Kurdish
- Pa kin gniaLao
- Baltasis amūrasLithuanian
- Baltais amūrsLatvian
- Kap makan rumputMalay
- gresskarpeNorwegian Bokmål
- graskarperDutch
- graskarpeNorwegian Nynorsk
- Amur białyPolish
- Carpa-do-limoPortuguese
- CosașRomanian
- белякRussian
- Амур белыйRussian
- Белый амурRussian
- amur bielySlovak
- amuri i bardhëAlbanian
- gräskarpSwedish
- Pullu kendaiTamil
- ปลาเฉาThai
- ปลา เฉาฮื้อThai
- Çin SazanıTurkish
- Амур білийUkrainian
- Cá Trắm cỏVietnamese
- Cá châm TrengVietnamese
- 鯇Chinese
- 池魚Chinese
- 草根魚Chinese
- 草魚Chinese
- 草鱼Chinese
- 鯇魚Chinese
- 鯤Chinese
- 鲩Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the grass carp
Other species in the same family Cyprinidae.
Goldfish
Carassius auratus
Common carp
Cyprinus carpio
Common bream
Abramis brama
Common roach
Rutilus rutilus
Common rudd
Scardinius erythrophthalmus
Chub
Squalius cephalus
CompareGrass carp vs GoldfishGrass carp vs Common carpGrass carp vs Common breamGrass carp vs Common roach
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the grass carp?
The grass carp is a bony fish. It belongs to the family Cyprinidae and the order Cypriniformes.
What is the scientific name of the grass carp?
The scientific name of the grass carp is Ctenopharyngodon idella. It is placed in the genus Ctenopharyngodon.
Who named the grass carp and when?
The grass carp's scientific name authority is written as (Valenciennes, 1844).
Is the grass carp endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List assesses the grass carp globally as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
What are other names for the grass carp?
Other English names for the grass carp are Mud carp, Grasscarp, White Amur, Silver orfe and Chinese grass carp.
What family and subfamily does the grass carp belong to?
The grass carp belongs to the family Cyprinidae and the subfamily Xenocypridinae.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/grass-carp
“Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/grass-carp.
@misc{grass_carp_2026,
title = {Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/grass-carp},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}