Description

Dorsal spines (total): 16 - 18; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10 - 11; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 10 - 12; Vertebrae: 30 - 31. Diagnosis: A large bodied tilapia with a small rounded head, short snout, forward-facing mouth, deep body, relatively small eye for the body size, and generally lacking any dark stripes or blotches (Ref. 118638). Females and non-territorial males typically pale grey, white ventrally; males are typically darker, especially in the head/dorsal region; breeding males have a reddish-pink head and flank, dark fins with red/pink dorsal margins, and red/pink caudal region (Ref. 118638). In contrast to Oreochromis rukwaensis, mature males of O. esculentus do not show enlarged jaws (Ref. 27292). Oreochromis esculentus differs from O. niloticus as follows: no vertical stripes on the caudal fin; lower numbers of soft dorsal rays and therefore of total dorsal rays; lower modal number of lower gill-rakers; finer teeth in jaws and pharynx; a longer lower pharyngeal bone, 33.0-35.5% length of head; caudal peduncle as long as or, usually, longer than deep; O. niloticus, in common with many other species, is often preserved with three or four midlateral spots and another on the top of the caudal peduncle, a pattern not found in O. esculentus; and male genital papilla opening between a pair of often spongy lobes, vs. papilla conical or with a slight distal notch in O. niloticus (Ref. 2).

Common Names

No common names available.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Teleostei

Order: Cichliformes

Family: Cichlidae

Genus: Oreochromis

Species: Oreochromis esculentus (Graham, 1928)

Climate Zone

Location

Biology

Occasionally forms schools (Ref. 2, 363, 36900), mainly diurnal (Ref. 2). Tolerant of low oxygen concentrations, less than 1 ppm, and high levels of carbon dioxide (Ref. 3, 52016). A plankton-feeder using the mucus-trap mechanism combined with the combing action of the pharyngeal teeth (Ref. 2); the species is non-selective, in the sense that all organisms of a size capable of being retained by these means are passed into the stomach, but it is selective in that the schools follow concentrations of diatoms in the lake (Ref. 2). Food consist almost entirely of phytoplankton (Ref. 3, 6316), mainly diatoms (Ref. 4903, 30832, 34291), but also higher plants, insects and their larvae, crustaceans and worms like Tubifex (Ref. 27292); insect larvae and planktonic crustaceans occur less frequently although they may contribute to the diet of young fishes (Ref. 4903, 34291). A maternal mouthbrooder (Ref. 363, 4903, 12468, 27292, 34291, 54840, 118638); males make simple nests in shallow water (Ref. 118638). Ecologically, an offshore-living plankton feeder, which complemented the more inshore-living Oreochromis variabilis in the original ecosystem of Lake Victoria; these niches are now filled by the introduced Oreochromis niloticus and O. leucostictus respectively (Ref. 118638). Was a major component of the fisheries catch in Lake Victoria; supports artisanal fisheries in satellite lakes of Lake Victoria and forms a large part of the catch in Lake Rukwa, Nyumba ya Mungu and the central Tanzania lakes (Ref. 118638). Excellent taste, firm meat and suitable for sundrying (Ref. 54860). IUCN conservation status is critically endangered (Ref. 118638).

Habitat

benthopelagic