Zilles cichlid
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Zilles cichlid ( Coptodon zillii ) |
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| Coptodon zillii | ||||||||||||
| ( Gervais , 1848) |
Zilles cichlid ( Coptodon zillii , syn .: Tilapia zillii ) is a species of fish from the family of cichlids (Cichlidae), which is very widespread in northern, western and central Africa and is also found in the Middle East .
distribution
The species occurs in southern Morocco , in West Africa ( Senegal , Sassandra , Bandama , Boubo , Mé , Comoé , Bia , Ogun , Oshun , Volta , Niger ), in the lakes of Ounianga , in the Shari and in Lake Chad , in the central Congo basin , in the Lake Albert and Turkana , in the Nile and Jordan . It was introduced as a food fish in numerous countries .
features
Zille's cichlid grows to a maximum of 40 cm, but usually stays at a length of 30 cm. He has a very high back and laterally flattened body. The body height is about 55% of the standard length , the head length 31.9 to 34.1% of the standard length. The top of the head is straight and not convex. The teeth of the outer row of teeth are two-pointed. The lower pharyngealia is as wide as it is long. Your toothed rear area is longer than the front part. On the lower branch of the first gill arch there are 8 to 12 gill trap rays .
The top of the head and torso are dark olive brown with an iridescent bluish tinge. The lips are bright green, the throat is pink , as in many species of the genus Coptodon . In sexually mature animals, the head is patterned with green iridescent dots. Seven to ten dark transverse ligaments and dark longitudinal ligaments appear on the flanks when the animals are excited. The olive-green dorsal fin has a reddish edge and white to gray spots on its soft-radiating section. The unpaired fins are olive to brown with yellow spots, the dorsal and anal fins often have an orange border. Specimens between 2 and 14 cm in length have a yellow or gray caudal fin without spots. The spot on the back section of the dorsal fin, which is typical of tilapia, extends from the last fin spine to the 4th soft ray and is surrounded by a yellow ring.
- Fins formula : dorsal XIII – XVI / 10–14, anal III / 8–10.
- Scale formula : SL 28–31, 3–4 rows of scales on the sides of the head.
Way of life
Zille's cichlid occurs mainly in densely vegetated river regions and forms small schools. Young fish are often found in flooded areas. Like all members of the genus Coptodon , Zille's cichlid feeds mainly on plants and algae as well as on small invertebrates. The species has a high temperature tolerance (10.5–36 ° C).
Systematics
The species was described in 1848 by the French zoologist and paleontologist Paul Gervais as Acerina zillii , named after Zill, the collector of the type specimens , and later assigned to the genus Tilapia , subgenus Coptodon . The subgenus Coptodon was raised to genus rank in early 2013.
literature
- Melanie Stiassny, Guy Teugels, Carl D. Hopkins: The Fresh and Brackish Water Fishes of Lower Guinea, West-Central Africa. Volume 1, Paris 2007, ISBN 978-90-74752-20-6 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Andreas R. Dunz, Ulrich K. Schliewen: Molecular phylogeny and revised classification of the haplotilapiine cichlid fishes formerly referred to as “Tilapia”. In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 68, 1, July 2013, pp. 64-80. doi: 10.1016 / j.ympev.2013.03.015
Web links
- Coptodon zillii on Fishbase.org (English)
- Videos on Tilapia zillii published by the Institute for Scientific Film .