Crucian Carp
Crucian Carp
Fish
A tough British pond fish that survives whole winters under ice by turning its waste into alcohol.
💡 Fun Facts
- Sealed under ice in water with no oxygen, it can survive for up to six months by turning its own waste into alcohol and breathing it out — a trick almost no other backboned animal can manage.
- When predators are about, it can grow a deeper, humped body that is harder to swallow.
- Long regarded as native in Britain, it is a hardy pond fish — though most are far smaller than the biggest ever recorded.
Name Story
Carassius carassius
means “The carp, from an old European folk-name for the fish (the species name simply repeats the genus).”
likely meaningThe genus is a Latinisation of a European common name; the exact linguistic root is not firmly established, so the decode is probable rather than certain.
What does its name mean?
- Carassius — a Latinised form of a vernacular European name for the fish (compare German Karausche, French carassin)Latinised vernacular
- carassius — repeats the genus — a tautonymsame root
Carassius carassius takes its name from an old European folk-word for the fish; here the species name simply repeats the genus, a neat quirk that scientists call a tautonym.