36 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO STUDIES 



Genus CARASSIUS Nilsson 



The Crucian Carp 



Carassius Nilsson, Prodromus Ichthy. Scand., 1832. 



Body deep and compressed; barbels wanting; dorsal fin long; dorsal and 



anal fins each with a serrate spine; scales large, lateral line complete. Natives 



of central Asia. 



Carassius auratus (Linnaeus) 



Goldfish (Fig. 62) 



Cyprinus auratus Linnaeus, Systema Naturae, ed. X, p. 323, 1758. 



Carpiodes velifer (Rafinesque)— Jtjday, Univ. Colo. Studies, Vol. II, p. 113, 1Q03 (Longmont). 



Body deep and compressed; head 3 to 3. 25, depth 2. 5 to 3 in the length to 

 the base of the caudal fin; dorsal fin and anal fin much like the dorsal and anal 

 of Cyprinus carpio, each with a serrate spine; scales large, 4-6, 28-30, 5-6; size 

 medium, reaching the length of 12 mches or more. 



Color of specimens in captivity usually orange-red, silvery or yellowish, often 

 somewhat marked with black; wild specimens oUvaceous to greenish blue, darker 

 dorsally; orange varieties revertmg to greenish form when liberated into streams. 



The Goldfish is valued because of the orange-colored varieties so extensively 

 raised for aquaria and small ponds. By selective breeding many curious forms 

 of this fish have been established, the color, shape and size of the fins and even 

 the position of the eyes being variable. One very remarkable type of Goldfish, 

 known as the Telescope Fish, has the portions of the head bearing the eyes enlarged 

 so that the eyes are borne on conical projections. The Goldfish has escaped from 

 ponds in Colorado and the green wild form is now found in the Grand and South 

 Platte rivers. This fish is sometimes confused with the Quillback, Carpiodes 

 velifer (Rafinesque) , from which it is easily separated by the presence of a serrate 

 spine in both the dorsal and anal fins. 



Colorado specimens. — University Museum: St. Vrain Creek, Longmont, October 17, 1903 

 (6 specimens, 80-90 mm.), C. Juday and D. W. Spangler, No. 13; small pool near Grand River, 

 Grand Junction, August 8, 1912 (10 specimens, 70-80 mm.), J. Henderson and M. M. Ellis, No. 328; 

 Slate Teachers' College Museum: Ponds near Greeley, A. E. Beardsley. 



Subfamily Campostominae 

 Genus CAMPOSTOMA Agassiz 

 The Stone-roUers 

 Campostoma Agassiz, Amer. Journ. Sci. Arts, p. 218, 1855. 



Herbivorous Cyprinids; alimentary canal very long, its length 6 or more 

 times that of the body, wound around the air bladder which is thus suspended in 

 the abdominal cavity; premaxillaries protractile; mouth more or less ventral and 

 sucker-like; peritoneum black. Campostoma is un ique among fishes in the position 

 of the air bladder. Its species are known only from central and southwestern 



