Sarotherodon galilaeus ( Linnaeus, 1758 )

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 : 467-468

Sarotherodon galilaeus ( Linnaeus, 1758) [N]—Mango tilapia; Amnun ha’galil

Taxonomy. Original description: Sparus galilaeus Linnaeus, 1758: 282 [Lake Tiberias [Galilée], Israel; no types known].—Israeli synonyms: Sparus galilaeus Linnaeus, 1758 ; Tilapia galilaea and attributed to Artedi; Chromis microstomus Lortet, 1883 ; Chromis tiberiadis Lortet, 1883 .—Revisions: None.—Illustration: Krupp & Schneider (1989: 399, fig. 51).

Status in Israel. Recorded from Israel in original description by Linnaeus (1758); subsequently reported by Günther (1865: 490) as Chromis nilotica (non Linnaeus, 1758), Lortet (1883: 139) and Tristram (1884: 167) as Chromis microstomus and as Chromis tiberiadis, Steinitz (1953: 216) as Tilapia galilaea, Goren (1974: 102) as Tilapia galiaea, Ben-Tuvia (1978) , Goren & Ortal (1999: 4).—Israel material: HUJ.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Israel: The Jordan River basin and the coastal plain.—Distribution in River Basin: 1-Western Basin, 2-Dead Sea Basin, 3-Kinneret Basin.—General distribution: Middle East; introduced elsewhere.—Distribution in Ecoregion: 436-Coastal Levant, 438- Jordan River.—Habitat: This demersal species occurs in shallow inshore waters of lakes and prefers open water, but juveniles and breeding adults can be found offshore. It is often associated with submerged vegetation. It occasionally forms schools and can be territorial. It also occurs in rivers. Freshwater, brackish.

Economic importance. Commercially important.

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

Remarks. This species is yearly stocked in Lake Kinneret to enhance the fishery.