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Coptodon zillii  (Gervais, 1848)

Redbelly tilapia
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Coptodon zillii
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country information

Common names: [No common name]
Occurrence:
Salinity:
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments:
National Checklist:
Country Information:
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
National Database:

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes (Perch-likes) > Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

Zill's tilapia, Cichlid, Zille's cichlid, ... more

Main reference

Dunz, A.R. and U.K. Schliewen. 2013. (Ref. 93285)
 References | Biblio | Coordinator : Kullander, Sven O. | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 40.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 34290); common length : 30.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 34290); max. published weight: 300.00 g (Ref. 3799); max. reported age: 7 years (Ref. 164)

Length at first maturity
 Lm 7.0, range 20 - ? cm

Environment

Freshwater; brackish; benthopelagic; pH range: 6.0 - 9.0; dH range: 5 - 20; potamodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 1 - 7 m (Ref. 4967)

Climate / Range

Tropical; 11°C - 36°C (Ref. 3), preferred ?; 35°N - 9°S, 17°W - 36°E

Distribution

Africa and Eurasia: South Morocco, Sahara, Niger-Benue system, rivers Senegal, Sassandra, Bandama, Boubo, Mé, Comoé, Bia, Ogun and Oshun, Volta system, Chad-Shari system (Ref. 5163), middle Congo River basin in the Ubangi, Uele (Ref. 55074), Itimbiri, Aruwimi (Ref. 55074, 106290), Lindi-Tshopo (Ref. 106290) and Wagenia Falls (Ref. 106245)(Democratic Republic of the Congo), Lakes Albert (Ref. 55074) and Turkana, Nile system and the Jordan system (Ref. 5163). Several countries report adverse ecological impact after introduction.
 Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 13 - 16; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10-14; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8 - 10. Diagnosis: upper profile of head not convex; lower pharyngeal bone about as long as broad, and with anterior lamella shorter than toothed area; median pharyngeal teeth not broadened; dorsal fin with 14-16 spines and 10-14 soft rays (mean 15, 12); 8-11 lower gillrakers; dark longitudinal band appears on flanks when agitated; no bifurcated dark vertical bars on flanks; dorsal and caudal fins not or feebly blotched (Ref. 53405). Body brownish-olivaceous with an iridescent blue sheen; lips bright green (Ref. 34290, 53405). Chest pinkish (Ref. 34290). Dorsal, caudal and anal fins brownish-olivaceous with yellow spots, dorsal and anal fins outlined by narrow orange band; "tilapian" spot large, extending from last spine to 4th soft ray and always bordered by yellow band (Ref. 34290, 53405). Specimens 2-14 cm SL with completely yellowish or greyish caudal fin without dots, but tend to develop a greyish caudal fin with dots of increasing size during development; above 14 cm SL, this species has greyish caudal fins with dots on entire caudal fin (Ref. 57660).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occasionally form schools; mainly diurnal. Prefer shallow, vegetated areas (Ref. 4967). Fry are common in marginal vegetation and juveniles are found in the seasonal floodplain. Herbivorous, feed on water plants and epiphyton, and some invertebrates. Substrate spawner (Ref. 28714). Larvae develop in close association with substrate. Extended temperature range 6.5 - 42.5 °C, natural temperature range 10.5 - 36°C (Ref. 3).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

  Not Evaluated 

Threat to humans

  Potential pest



Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; aquarium: commercial

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Alien/Invasive Species database | BHL | Check for other websites | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO(Aquaculture: production; ; publication : search) | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | National databases | PubMed | Scirus | Sea Around Us | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | uBio RSS | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record | Fishtrace

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
 PD50 = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
 2.5   ±0.1 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
 Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.2-0.5; tm=2-3; tmax=7; Fec = 715 - 1,147)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
 Low to moderate vulnerability (27 of 100)
Price category (Ref. 80766)
 Unknown