Tristramella sacra ( Günther, 1865 )

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 : 468-469

Tristramella sacra ( Günther, 1865) [N]—Long jaw tristramella; Tvarnun listani

Taxonomy. Original description: Hemichromis sacra Günther, 1865: 493 [Lake Tiberias (Galilée), Israel; lectotype: BMNH 1864.8.20.1; lectotype selected by Krupp& Schneider, 1989: 402].— Israel synonyms: Chromis paterfamilias Lortet, 1876 .—Revisions: None.—Illustration: Tristram (1884: pl 18, fig. 2); Krupp & Schneider (1989: 402, fig. 53).

Status in Israel. Recorded from Israel in the original description by Günther (1865: 490) as Hemichromis sacra ; subsequently reported by Lortet (1883: 148) and Tristram (1884: 168) as Hemichromis sacra, Steinitz (1953: 218) , Goren (1974: 105), Goren & Ortal (1999: 4).—Israel material: HUJ.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Israel: Lake Tiberias.—Distribution in River Basin: 3-Kinneret Basin.— General distribution: Lake Tiberias.—Distribution in Ecoregion: 438- Jordan River.—Habitat: This species was a lacustrine species. Reproduction occurred in spring (April-July): it was a paternal mouth-brooder. The species feed on zooplankton and small fish. Freshwater.

Economic importance. Locally consumed, but of no commercial importance.

Conservation. Conservation Status in Israel: Extirpated.—IUCN: EX ( IUCN 2023).—Threats: Unknown.—High sensitivity to human activities.—Not considered a keystone species.—Decline status: Extinct.—High priority for conservation action.

Remarks. This species is extinct, apparently hybridizied with other species of the family of Cichlidae . Nonetheless, it was reported that this species is still found in Syria. This situation needs to be clarified by field studies and detailed molecular analyses.