Freshly collected adult
Freshly collected adult of Oreochromis niloticus at the Turkwel River [Kenya]. Photo by Andrew Nightingale.

Family
Cichlidae

Sub-family
Pseudocrenilabrinae

Tribe
Oreochromini

Genus
Oreochromis


Curator

Published:

Last updated on:
28-Oct-2012

Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758)


Become a subscriber

Unlock the full content of this and all other documents, images, and videos by becoming a subscriber of the Cichlid Room Companion. Get a free book of the same value as your membership! You can also open the full profile for everyone to see by sponsor this cichlid species and support the cichlid room companion

subscribe login

Original description as Labrus niloticus:

ZooBank:855B3128-A9E2-4553-93F8-38A999B2236C.

  • Linnaeus, Carolus. 1758. "Systema Naturae, Ed. X.". Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. 10 i-ii + 1-824 (crc00310)

Synonyms (1):

Sub-species:

Conservation: Oreochromis niloticus is evaluated by the international union for the conservation of nature in the iucn red list of threatened species as (LC) least concern (2018). Oreochromis niloticus is unlikely to become endangered, except perhaps for particular populations and subspecies of limited or local distributions. In general, it may be rather regarded as a thread for other species due to the almost worldwide dispersion by man. Although its qualities as a food fish and its suitability for aquaculture are undeniable, the invasion of natural waters outside the native range – be it by accidental escape from fish farms or by intentional stocking – causes several threats. In particular, the alien species are competitors of native fishes for food and breeding sites, impacts on water quality are also recorded. In African waters, native Oreochromis are additionally threatened by potential hybridization with the introduced species (Canonico & al 2005).