Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cichliformes (Cichlids, convict blennies) >
Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Oreochromis: Latin, aurum = gold + Greek, chromis = a fish, perhaps a perch (Ref. 45335).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical
Africa: Pangani River in Kenya and Tanzania (Ref. 2, 52331, 118630), from Lake Jipe down to the Pangani Falls dam (Ref. 118638). Introduced in ponds at Korogwe (Ref. 2), thence distributed to several ponds and dams in Tanzania (Ref. 2, 54836), including near Tanga (Ref. 2), in the Usambara Mountains (Ref. 2), in Lake Singida (Ref. 2, 54836), and in dams near Dodoma (Ref. 54836).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 20 - ? cm
Max length : 50.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2)
Dorsal spines (total): 17 - 19; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11 - 13; Anal spines: 3 - 4; Anal soft rays: 10 - 12; Vertebrae: 32 - 33. Diagnosis: A large bodied tilapia, with a slender body and small head and mouth; body depth 2.5-2.8 times in standard length (Ref. 4967, 118638). It can be distinguished by following characters: teeth of jaws with slender shafts in young, uniformly slender in adults; pharyngeal teeth very fine and crowded; dentigerous area with rounded lobes and short apex, its median length nearly always less than that of the blade; pectoral fin 34.3-41.2% of standard length, reaching base of anal fin; anal spines III-V (Ref. 2, 55060). Males and females are characterised by rows of blotched scales across the flanks; males have a pale blue head with dark spots, dark fins with pale spots, and orange margins to the dorsal and caudal; females and non-territorial males plainer and typically paler, and in some populations there is a more olive/yellow gular and ventral region (Ref. 118638). Caudal fin long with very definite vertical black or dark brown stripes (Ref. 55060).
Found in lakes and rivers (Ref. 4967). Chiefly a browser of periphyton in the lake, but additionally feeding also on bottom deposits and associated phytobenthos (Ref. 30832). A maternal mouthbrooder (Ref. 54046, 55060, 118638). Occasionally territorial (Ref. 2). It supports artisanal fisheries in lakes and dams across the Pangani catchment, with the largest fisheries in Lake Jipe and Nyumba ya Mungu (Ref. 118638). IUCN conservation status is critically endangered due to its restricted range and evidence of declining stocks between the 1970s and 2000 (Ref. 118638).
A maternal mouthbrooder (Ref. 54046, 55060, 118638). Breeding pits consist of a central pit surrounded by two or three series of smaller pits (Ref. 2, 55060).
Trewavas, E., 1983. Tilapiine fishes of the genera Sarotherodon, Oreochromis and Danakilia. British Mus. Nat. Hist., London, UK. 583 p. (Ref. 2)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: experimental
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01862 (0.00830 - 0.04177), b=3.01 (2.82 - 3.20), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 2.0 ±0.00 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (44 of 100).
