Oreochromis aureus ( Steindachner, 1864 )

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 : 466

Oreochromis aureus ( Steindachner, 1864) [N]—Blue tilapia; Amnun ha’yarden

Taxonomy. Original description: Chromis aureus Steindachner, 1864: 229 , pl. 8, fig. 5 [locality unknown; no types known].— Israel synonyms: Tilapia aurea ( Steindachner, 1864) .—Revisions: Trewavas (1965: 265) as Tilapia aurea ; Trewavas (1982: 12).—Illustration: Steindachner (1864: 229, pl. 8, fig. 5).

Status in Israel. First record from Israel by Günther (1869) as Tilapia aurea ; confirmed by Goren (1974: 102), Goren & Ortal (1999: 4).—Israel material: HUJ.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Israel: Jordan River basin including Lake Kinneret and the coastal plain.— Distribution in River Basin: 2-Dead Sea Basin, 3-Kinneret Basin.—General distribution: Middle East and Africa. Introduced widely elsewhere.—Distribution in Ecoregion: 438- Jordan River.—Habitat: This species inhabits a very wide range of flowing water habitats, from fast-flowing headwaters and reservoirs to polluted canals and large lowland rivers. It is the most environmentally tolerant of all tilapia species, tolerating lack of oxygen, pollution, salinity, etc. Low water temperatures (below 10–13 ° C) limit its occurrence. Freshwater, brackish.

Economic importance. Commercially important.

Conservation. Conservation status in Israel: Unknown.—IUCN: NE (2023).—Threats: Unknown.—Low sensitivity to human activities.—Not considered a keystone species.—Decline status: Unknown.—Low priority for conservation action.

Remarks. It was hybridized with other cichlids like Oreochromis mossambicus , Oreochromis niloticus , and O. urolepis for amelioation and husbandry of aquaculture.