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25 Crucian Carp Carassius carassius (Linnaeus 1758) Figure 15. Crucian Carp, UF 30247,101 millimeter SL. from Yeosu. South Korea. Description The Crucian Carp (fig. 15) is medium-sized fish, usually <50 cm TL and 1.8 kg (Wheeler, 1978). Maximum size is about 64 em TL (lGFA, 2001) and 5 kg (Berg, 1964). Typically, individuals are deep- bodied and laterally compressed (fig. 16); however, a slender "shallow-bodied" variety also exists (fig. 17). The dorsal fin has iii-iv (14-21) rays and a stout, spine- like ray precedes the branched rays. The anal fin has ii-iii (5-8) rays. The mouth is terminal and oblique, and the peritoneum is pale. The lateral line is complete, with 28-37 relatively large scales. The pharyngeal teeth are in one row (0,4-4,0; fig. 18). Gill rakers on the first arch count 22-33. The body is golden copper, darker dorsally, with reddish fins. Sexual dimorphism is not pronounced (Szczerbowski and Szczerbowski, 200 I). Meristics are given in appendix B. Similar Species The long dorsal fin of the Crucian Carp, with a strong, serrated spine-like ray followed by 15 or more branched rays, distinguishes it from most native North American cyprinids, which usually lack the spine-like ray and typically have fewer than 11 branched dorsal rays. Of the foreign nonindigenous cyprinids, the Crucian Carp most closely resembles the Goldfish and Common Carp. Crucian Carp is distinguished from Goldfish by its slightly convex dorsal-fin margin and slightly emargin- ate caudal fin; juvenile and young adult Crucian Carp have a black spot at the base of the caudal fin. The Goldfish has a straight or slightly concave dorsal-fin margin, a deeply emarginate caudal fin, and lacks the spot at the base of the caudal fin. The typical form of the Crucian Carp is slightly deeper bodied than Goldfish. Oenticles on the posterior margin of the spine-like dorsal ray are smaller and more numerous in Crucian Carp (28- 29) than in Goldfish (10-11). Crucian Carp lacks barbels, which distinguishes it from Common Carp.