Oreochromis alcalicus, Common Natron tilapia

You can sponsor this page

Oreochromis alcalicus (Hilgendorf, 1905)

Common Natron tilapia
Upload your photos and videos
Pictures | Google image
Image of Oreochromis alcalicus (Common Natron tilapia)
Oreochromis alcalicus
Male picture by Seegers, L.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Cichliformes (Cichlids, convict blennies) > Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Oreochromis: Latin, aurum = gold + Greek, chromis = a fish, perhaps a perch (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Hilgendorf.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical; 2°S - 3°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Africa: known only from the catchment of Lake Natron, Tanzania and Kenya (Ref. 2, 5166, 118638).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 11.6 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 32272)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 9 - 13; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11-15; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 9 - 11; Vertebrae: 27 - 30. Diagnosis: A small elongated species with a terminal mouth (Ref. 118638). Mature males have dark-edged dorsal and anal fins, iridescent blue-white spots on flanks, white lower lips, and a spotted caudal fin with a pink edge; they appear to be colour polymorphic, with some males having yellow bellies and throats, while others are blue white: both morphs can be found in the same location and the colours are stable in aquarium-held specimens, suggesting it is a true polymorphism and not related to reproductive state (Ref. 118638). Females and non-territorial males are sandy-coloured, pale ventrally, sometimes with faint vertical bars (Ref. 118638).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occurs at a temperature range of 30-32°C (Ref. 2). It feeds actively in the early morning; mainly on algae as well as copepods and dipterous larvae (Ref. 2). A maternal mouthbrooder: males excavate pits in the substrate in shallow water (Ref. 2, 118638). The species is occasionally caught as a food fish in its natural range; although it attains a small size, its tolerance of hostile environments may make it suitable for culture in high salinity environments; potential as an aquarium fish (Ref. 118638). Classed as endangered, due to its restricted distribution (Ref. 118638).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Early in the morning before taking possession of their pits, the males feed on slimy algal growths-noisily; sexual activity is greater after noon than before; young male may build a small pit around that of a larger male and mate there with a small female (Ref. 2). Males prepare and guard nests, while females migrate from one nest to another; males guard the nest against juveniles of their own species and other species which feed on the fertilized eggs which fall from the mouth of the female mouth brooder (Ref. 11288). Also Ref. 118638.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Kullander, Sven O. | Collaborators

Seegers, L. and H. Tichy, 1999. The Oreochromis alcalicus flock (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from lakes Natron and Magadi, Tanzania and Kenya, with descriptions of two new species. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 10(2):97-146. (Ref. 32272)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Endangered (EN) (B1ab(i,ii,iii)+2ab(i,ii,iii)); Date assessed: 31 January 2006

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration
Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Spawning aggregation
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
BRUVS
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Nutrients
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins Misc.
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Download XML

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5625   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01905 (0.00827 - 0.04391), 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):  2.7   ±0.21 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (10 of 100).