Coptodon zillii ( Gervais, 1848 )

Çiçek, Erdoğan, Fricke, Ronald, Sungur, Sevil, Çapar, Osman Bahadir & Golani, Daniel, 2023, Freshwater fishes of Israel; a revised and updated annotated checklist- 2023, Zootaxa 5369 (4), pp. 451-484 : 465

Coptodon zillii ( Gervais, 1848) [N]—Redbelly tilapia; Amnun matzui

Taxonomy. Original description: Acerina zillii Gervais, 1848: 203 [Artesian well, Tuggurth, Algeria; syntypes: MNHN (lost)].— Israel synonyms: Tilapia zillii ( Gervais, 1848) ; Chromis andreae Günther, 1865 .—Revisions: Dunz & Schliewen (2013: 73).—Illustration: Krupp & Schneider (1989: 400, fig. 52).

Status in Israel. First record from Israel by Günther (1865: 490), Lortet (1883: 142) and Tristram (1884: 165) as Chromis andreae ; confirmed by Steinitz (1953: 217) as Tilapia zillii, Goren (1974: 103 as Tilapia zillii ), Goren & Ortal (1999: 4) as Tilapia zillii .—Israel material: HUJ.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Israel: Jordan River basin and Mediterranean coastal plain.—Distribution in River Basin: 1-Western Basin, 3-Kinneret Basin.—General distribution: North Africa: Morocco east to Egypt, south to Nigeria and Central African Republic; Middle East: Syria south to Israel and Jordan. Introduced elsewhere.—Distribution in Ecoregion: 436-Coastal Levant, 438- Jordan River.—Habitat: This species is a demersal, potamodromous species that occasionally forms schools and is mainly diurnal. It is caught in shallow marginal waters in the waterlily zones, inlets, drowned forest areas, and on sandy shores. Freshwater, brackish.

Economic importance. Commercially important.

Conservation. Conservation Status in Israel: Unknown.—IUCN: LC ( IUCN 2023).—Threats: ABS, CON, CLI, EUT, FIT, HAB.—Low sensitivity to human activities.—Not considered a keystone species.—Decline status: Unknown.—Low priority for conservation action.