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Tilapias
Oreochromis
Oreochromis is a large genus of oreochromine cichlids, fishes endemic to Africa and the Middle East. A few species from this genus have been introduced far outside their native range and are important in aquaculture. Many others have very small ranges; some are seriously threatened, and O. ismailiaensis and O. lidole possibly are extinct. Although Oreochromis primarily are freshwater fish of rivers, lakes and similar habitats, several species can also thrive in brackish waters and some even survive in hypersaline conditions with a salinity that far surpasses that of seawater. In addition to overfishing and habitat loss, some of the more localized species are threatened by the introduction of other, more widespread Oreochromis species into their ranges. This is because they—in addition to competing for the local resources—often are able to hybridize.
Oreochromis are fairly robust fish, and medium–small to very large cichlids that can reach up to 9.4–61 cm (4–24 in) in total length depending on the exact species.
39 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 37 known species
Nile Tilapia
speciesOreochromis niloticus
Mozambique Tilapia
speciesOreochromis mossambicus
Blue Tilapia
speciesOreochromis aureus
Mozambique × Nile Tilapia
hybridOreochromis mossambicus × niloticus
Blue-spotted Tilapia
speciesOreochromis leucostictus
Three-spotted Tilapia
speciesOreochromis andersonii
Rufigi Tilapia
speciesOreochromis urolepis
Shiranus Tilapia
speciesOreochromis shiranus
Longfin Tilapia
speciesOreochromis macrochir
Tanganyikan Tilapia
speciesOreochromis tanganicae
Sabaki Tilapia
speciesOreochromis spilurus
Singida Tilapia
speciesOreochromis esculentus
Black Tilapia
speciesOreochromis placidus
Schwebisch's Tilapia
speciesOreochromis schwebischi
Lake Rukwa Tilapia
speciesOreochromis rukwaensis
Angolan Tilapia
speciesOreochromis angolensis
Oreochromis squamipinnis
speciesOreochromis squamipinnis
Lake Chala Tilapia
speciesOreochromis hunteri
Malawi Chambo
speciesOreochromis karongae
Jipe Tilapia
speciesOreochromis jipe
Manyara Tilapia
speciesOreochromis amphimelas
Graham's Tilapia
speciesOreochromis grahami
Victoria Tilapia
speciesOreochromis variabilis
Malagarasi Tilapia
speciesOreochromis malagarasi
Common Natron Tilapia
speciesOreochromis alcalicus
Oreochromis mweruensis
speciesOreochromis mweruensis
Kariba Tilapia
speciesOreochromis mortimeri
Korogwe Tilapia
speciesOreochromis korogwe
Oreochromis upembae
speciesOreochromis upembae
Oreochromis saka
speciesOreochromis saka
Kiungululu Tilapia
speciesOreochromis chungruruensis
Karomo Tilapia
speciesOreochromis karomo
Oreochromis lepidurus
speciesOreochromis lepidurus
Oreochromis salinicola
speciesOreochromis salinicola
Narrow-mouthed Natron Tilapia
speciesOreochromis ndalalani
Wide-lipped Natron Tilapia
speciesOreochromis latilabris
Blue × Mozambique Tilapia
hybridOreochromis aureus × mossambicus
Oreochromis lidole
speciesOreochromis lidole
Oreochromis ismailiaensis
speciesOreochromis ismailiaensis
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Oreochromis in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 90511.