Astatotilapia flaviijosephi ( Lortet, 1883 )

Çiçek, Erdoğan, Fricke, Ronald, Sungur, Sevil, Çapar, Osman Bahadir & Golani, Daniel, 2023, Freshwater fishes of Israel; a revised and updated annotated checklist- 2023, Zootaxa 5369 (4), pp. 451-484 : 464-465

Astatotilapia flaviijosephi ( Lortet, 1883) [N]—Redbelly tilapia; Amnunit yosef

Taxonomy. Original description: Chromis flaviijosephi Lortet, 1883: 141 , pl. 8, fig. 2 [Aun Nudauwara, Syria, 32°50’N, 35°28’E; lectotype: MGHN 4056].— Israel synonyms: Haplochromis flaviijosephi ( Lortet, 1883) .— Revisions: None.—Illustration: Lortet (1883: p. 8, fig. 2) as Astatotilapia flaviijosephi, Krupp & Schneider (1989: 395 , fig. 49).

Status in Israel. Recorded from Israel in original description by Lortet (1883); confirmed by Lortet (1883: 141) and Tristram (1884: 167) as Chromis flavii-josephi, Steinitz (1953: 220) as Haplochromis flavii-josephi, Goren (1974: 103) as Haplochromis flaviijosephi, Goren & Ortal (1999: 4) .—Israel material: HUJ.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Israel: Jordan River system.—Distribution in River Basin: 2-Dead Sea Basin, 3-Kinneret basin.—General distribution: Middle East: Jordan River system ( Israel, Jordan, and Syria).— Distribution in Ecoregion: 438- Jordan River.—Habitat: This species lives in the shallow zones of lakes, springs, and streams, where it may be found among stones or vegetation. Freshwater.

Economic importance. Rarely used in the aquarium trade.

Conservation. Conservation Status in Israel: Unknown.—IUCN: VU ( IUCN 2023).—Threats: ABS, CLI, HAB.— High sensitivity to human activities.—Not considered a keystone species.—Decline status: Decreasing.—High priority for conservation action.