Oreochromis niloticus ( Linnaeus, 1758 )

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 : 467

Oreochromis niloticus ( Linnaeus, 1758) [I]—Nile tilapia; Amnun ha’yeor

Taxonomy. Original description: Perca niloticus Linnaeus, 1758: 290 [Nile River; holotype:?NRM LP 10].—Israeli synonyms: Perca nilotica Linnaeus, 1758 ; Tilapia nilotica ( Linnaeus, 1758) ; Chromis niloticus ( Linnaeus, 1758) ; Tilapia vulcani Trewavas, 1933 .—Revisions: None.—Illustration: Ye in Pan et al. (1991: 416, fig. 248) as Tilapia nilotica, Teugels & Thys van den Audenaerde in Lévêque et al. (1992: 761, fig. 49.36).

Status in Israel. First record from Israel by Lortet (1883: 137) and Tristram (1884: 164) as Chromis niloticus , and by Steinitz (1953: 513) as Tilapia nilotica exul, Fishelson (1962) as Tilapia nilotica ; confirmed by Goren (1974: 102) as Tilapia nilotica, Goren & Ortal (1999: 4) .—Israel material: None.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Israel: Only several, not confirmed, specimens, were collected in the coastal plain. They are escapees from aquaculture.—Distribution in River Basin: 1-Western Basin.—General distribution: North Africa and East Africa. Widely introduced elsewhere.—Distribution in Ecoregion: 436-Coastal Levant.—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. None in Israel, elsewhere commercially important.

Reasons of introduction. Aquaculture.

Conservation. Not relevant (introduced species).