Goldfish Having A Taxonomic Name?

[doktor doris]

Hey all,

My understanding of taxonomy is that man made animals do not get a taxonomic name, for instance flowerhorns, they have no taxonomic name.

But goldfish are man-made from Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio), and yet they are known as Carassius auratus.

So what is going on?

Why do frankenstein goldfish get the luxury of a taxonomic name, yet frankenstein flowerhorns do not?

Thanks for reading

doris

 

[Essjay]

Flowerhorns are hybrid fish. They are like mules, one parent a horse, one a donkey. This is why they don't have a taxonomic name, they are neither one thing nor the other.

Goldfish were a natural mutation of the Crucian carp, Carassius carassius, about a thousand years ago. The natural mutation was in the body type, while further changes have been made by selective breeding. (According to what I can find out!)

The goldfish was well established before taxonomic names were invented, while the flowerhorn is a modern develpoment.


Edited for spelling

 

[doktor doris]

Interesting, but incorrect.

look-

The wild form of the goldfish is the Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio). Some sources claim the Crucian carp (Carassius carassius) as the wild version of the goldfish. While they are closely related, they can be differentiated by the following characteristics:

* C. auratus have a more pointed snout while the snout of a C. carassius is well rounded.
* The wild form of the Goldfish C. gibelio often has a grey/greenish color, while crucian carps are always golden bronze.
* Juvenile crucian carp have a black spot on the base of the tail which disappears with age. In C. auratus this tail spot is never present.
* C. auratus have fewer than 31 scales along the lateral line while crucian carp have 33 scales or more.

And mules are f1 hybrids ,meaning they are sterile.

Whereas I think flowerhorns are fertile.

doris

 

[afishdude]

You need to be more specific of the term goldfish. The term goldfish covers hundreds of sub species, not just the Carassius auratus.

 

[owlbassboy]

there is also the fact that although goldfish are mutations they can breed and sustain a population. as far as im aware hybrids like flowerhorns cant do this tho i may be wrong but this would be why they have no taxonomic name.

 

[Essjay]

The item I came across could be completely wrong about goldfish origins. Whatever the origin of the goldfish, it was developed a long time ago, and the techniques we now have for getting two different species to breed did not exist then. Goldfish strains could only have arisen from natural mutation or selective breeding, leading to the grotesque forms we see today. Breeders have been working on them for a long time. Flowerhorns are the recent result of humans inducing two different species to breed. Do flowerhorns breed true?