ABSTRACT
Since about 1960 the grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon ideila Val.) has been disseminated throughout the world from its original biotopes in the main rivers of China. Currently the species can also be ranked foremost amongst the fishes in providing research possibilities for scientists of a variety of disciplines. It seems unlikely that any other fish can have appeared so often in cartoons and popular press articles as the grass carp or as it is called in some States of the USA, the white Amur. Henderson (1979) lists a number of quotations from magazines and newspapers, that describe the fish both as a voracious monster (only to be handled wearing a baseball catcher's mask) and as a potential surpasser of beef as a source of protein.
