Coptodon zillii

The redbelly tilapia (Coptodon zillii, syn. Tilapia zillii), also known as the Zille's redbreast tilapia or St. Peter's fish (a name also used for other tilapia in Israel), is a species of fish in the cichlid family. This fish is found widely in fresh and brackish waters in the northern half of Africa and the Middle East. Elsewhere in Africa, Asia, Australia and North America, it has been introduced as a food fish or as a control of aquatic vegetation. Where introduced, it sometimes becomes invasive, threatening the local ecology and species. The redbelly tilapia is an important food fish and sometimes aquacultured. The species was named by Paul Gervais in honor of M. (probably Monsieur) Zill, a “distinguished naturalist” who collected the type specimen and sent it to Gervais. In Africa, the native range of the redbelly tilapia covers the northern half of the continent. In tropical West to Central Africa, from coastal southern Morocco and the Senegal River to the central Congo River basin, its range is almost continuous. In northeastern Africa the redbelly tilapia occurs throughout much of the Nile basin, from its delta in northern Egypt to Lake Albert in DR Congo–Uganda, as well Lake Turkana in Ethiopia–Kenya; it is not native to the other African Great Lakes, although it has been introduced to some of them. In the Maghreb and Sahara where fewer aquatic habitats are available, the range is much more spotty but with several relict populations in seasonal rivers, lakes and oases (gueltas). Outside Africa, its natural distribution is limited to the Jordan River system, including Lake Tiberias (Kinneret), in Israel, Jordan and Syria, as well as coastal systems in Israel. Cichlids are numerous in Africa, but in parts of the redbelly tilapia's range it is one of the few members of the family. In the Maghreb and Sahara (excluding the species-rich Nile), the only others are the blue tilapia (Oreochromis aureus) and mango tilapia (Sarotherodon galilaeus), and a couple of Astatotilapia and Hemichromis species.