Oreochromis niloticus  (Linnaeus, 1758)

Nile tilapia
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Oreochromis niloticus
Picture by Stiassny, M.L.J.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes (Perch-likes) > Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Oreochromis: Latin, aurum = gold + Greek, chromis = a fish, perhaps a perch (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Freshwater; brackish; benthopelagic; potamodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 6 m (Ref. 32849), usually ? - 20 m (Ref. 34290).   Tropical; 14°C - 33°C (Ref. 3); 32°N - 10°N

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 18.6, range 6 - 28 cm
Max length : 60.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4967); max. published weight: 4.3 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 9 years (Ref. 164)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 15 - 18; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11-13; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 9 - 11; Vertebrae: 30 - 32. Diagnosis: jaws of mature male not greatly enlarged (length of lower jaw 29-37 % of head length); genital papilla of breeding male not tassellated (Ref. 2). Most distinguishing characteristic is the presence of regular vertical stripes throughout depth of caudal fin (Ref. 4967, 53405).

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions | Faunafri

Africa: naturally occurring in coastal rivers of Israel (Ref. 5166), Nile basin (including lake Albert, Edward and Tana), Jebel Marra, Lake Kivu, Lake Tanganyika, Awash River, various Ethiopian lakes, Omo River system, Lake Turkana, Suguta River and Lake Baringo (Ref. 2). In West Africa natural distribution covers the basins of the Senegal, Gambia, Volta, Niger, Benue and Chad, with introduced specimens reported from various coastal basins (Ref. 53405). Widely introduced for aquaculture, with many existing strains. Several countries report adverse ecological impact after introduction. The following subspecies are recognized: Oreochromis niloticus baringoensis, Oreochromis niloticus cancellatus, Oreochromis niloticus eduardianus, Oreochromis niloticus filoa, Oreochromis niloticus niloticus, Oreochromis niloticus sugutae, Oreohromis niloticus tana and Oreohromis niloticus vulcani.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occur in a wide variety of freshwater habitats like rivers, lakes, sewage canals and irrigation channels (Ref. 28714). Mainly diurnal. Feed mainly on phytoplankton or benthic algae. Oviparous (Ref. 205). Mouthbrooding by females (Ref. 2). Extended temperature range 8-42 °C, natural temperature range 13.5 - 33 °C (Ref. 3). Marketed fresh and frozen (Ref. 9987).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Kullander, Sven O. | Collaborators

Trewavas, E., 1983. Tilapiine fishes of the genera Sarotherodon, Oreochromis and Danakilia. British Mus. Nat. Hist., London, UK. 583 p.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)

  Not Evaluated 

Threat to humans

  Potential pest




Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; aquaculture: commercial
FAO(Aquaculture: production, species profile; fisheries: production, species profile; publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Alien/Invasive Species database | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | DiscoverLife | Faunafri | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | National databases | Public aquariums | PubMed | RFE Identification | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates of some properties based on empirical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02097 (-0.01973 - 0.06167), b=2.97 (2.95 - 2.99), based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278):  2.0   ±0.0 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.14-0.41; tm=1-2; tmax=9; Fec < 1,000).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low to moderate vulnerability (34 of 100) .
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.