Latin Name
Alice Pittman
I am looking for the proper spelling and latin name for koi. Is there a
difference in the latin name for koi and butterfly koi or are they the
same thing
TIA Ali.
brett rowley
In <52uu9e$s...@tribune.usask.ca> pit...@duke.usask.ca (Alice Pittman)
writes:
Ali,
Koi are a variety of the common carp. The proper scientific (latin)
name for koi is Cyprinis carpio var. koi. Cyprinis carpio refers to
the genus and species, var. koi refers to the specific variety of
common carp. My newsreader won't let me italicize, but the proper way
to present a scientific name is the genus is capitalize, the species is
not, and both are in italics.
Longfin koi are just another variety of koi, kind of like poodles are a
variety of dog. Longfin koi would therefore have the same scientific
name. There are many varieties of common carp other than koi. Most
are either bred for food production or are wild varieties. IMHO,
common carp are the only truly domesticated species of fish. Perhaps
goldfish would also qualify. Both have been selectively bred for
hundreds of years into myriads of varieties. Dogs, or chickens would
make a good analogy to common carp. All dogs belong to the same genus
and species (Canis familiaris) but are diverse as chihuahuas and german
shepherds. Similarly, a kujaku (metallic peacock koi) is the same
genus and species as a Southeast Asian big belly carp, yet they are not
very similar in appearance. I hope this helps to answer your question.
Brett Rowley
Fisheries Biologist
Great Lakes Sportfishing Resort and Koi Breeding Farm
West Columbia, Texas
tgr...@printinginc.com
pit...@duke.usask.ca (Alice Pittman) wrote:
>I am looking for the proper spelling and latin name for koi. Is there a
>difference in the latin name for koi and butterfly koi or are they the
>same thing
>TIA Ali.
Not sure about the Latin name ( koi are carp, if that helps) but the
Japanese term is "nishikigoi". "Koi" is actually the Japanese term for
carnal love (yes, that means sex). How that happened, I don't know,
but I do know that the term is objectionable and definitely not used
by Japanese to refer to the fish.
Imagine that you were a breeder of prize (whatevers), and in
mentioning this to someone they say, "oh you mean screw-poodles?".
You'd have a hard time believing that they knew anything about it.
Kellie Snider
Alice Pittman wrote:
>
> I am looking for the proper spelling and latin name for koi. Is there a
> difference in the latin name for koi and butterfly koi or are they the
> same thing
>
> TIA Ali.
I don't know their latin names, but butterfly koi are a different kind
of koi. They have long flowing fins and tails. Regular koi have short,
neat fins and tails.
--
Signed - Kellie
____________________________________________________
My Karma ran over my Dogma. It was a Catastrophe.
Now my Dogma's Dead and my Karma's out of alignment.
____________________________________________________