The Common minnow is a species of freshwater fish. It is a member of the carp family of order Cypriniformes, and is the type species of genus Phoxinus. It is ubiquitous throughout much of Eurasia, from Britain and Spain to eastern Siberia, predominantly in cool streams and well-oxygenated lakes and ponds. It is noted for being a gregarious species, shoaling in large numbers. They are sometimes called "Eurasian minnows", but as it only occurs in parts of Asia, being replaced by congeners elsewhere, that term is better reserved for the Old World members of Phoxinus.