Labeo niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Nile carp (Labeo niloticus) is a fish species in the genus Labeo. It feeds primarily on plankton, and is distributed along the entire Nile valley. The Nile carp's diet is classified as mostly herbivorous, and besides plankton, it commonly consumes green algae, blue-green algae, and diatoms. The species also has a large population of their species located in the Khashm El-Girba reservoir and Atbara River, and their breeding season occurs between the months of July to September. It is generally believed to be the fish that swallowed the phallus of the Egyptian god Osiris in the myth regarding his death at the hands of his brother Seth.
Wikipedia contributors, Nile carp; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:57:33.705718+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Labeo niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cypriniformes
- Family
- Cyprinidae
- Genus
- Labeo
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCypriniformes
- familyCyprinidae Rafinesque, 1815
- subfamilyLabeoninae Bleeker, 1859
- genusLabeo Cuvier, 1816
- speciesLabeo niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Labeo. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Labeo alluaudi Pellegrin, 1933 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo altivelis Peters, 1852 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo ansorgii Boulenger, 1907 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo baldasseronii Di Caporiacco, 1948 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo barbatulus (Sauvage, 1878) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo batesii Boulenger, 1911 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo boga (Hamilton, 1822) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo boggut (Sykes, 1839) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo bottegi Vinciguerra, 1897 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo brachypoma Günther, 1868 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo calbasu (Hamilton, 1822) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo capensis (Smith, 1841) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Cyprinus niloticus Forsskål, 1775 Forsskål, 1775 | synonym |
| Labeo vulgaris Heckel, 1847 Heckel, 1847 | synonym |
| Cyprinus niloticus Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1021956 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3RHYF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.