Heterotilapia buttikoferi

Heterotilapia buttikoferi, also known as the zebra tilapia, is a West African species of cichlid.

Zebra tilapia
A zebra tilapia in an aquarium
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cichliformes
Family: Cichlidae
Genus: Heterotilapia
Species:
H. buttikoferi
Binomial name
Heterotilapia buttikoferi
(Hubrecht, 1881)
Synonyms[1]
  • Chromis buttikoferi Hubrecht, 1881
  • Tilapia buttikoferi (Hubrecht, 1881)
  • Tilapia ansorgii Boulenger, 1911

Description

H. buttikoferi is a large cichlid, capable of growing up to 30.8 cm (12.1 in) in standard length. Body is typically yellow or white with black stripes which can vary from very light to near black depending on the mood of the fish. The vertical black bars are broader than the lighter interspaces.[2] Their stripes tend to fade as they age.

Distribution and habitat

This freshwater fish is native to large rivers in tropical West Africa from Guinea-Bissau to Liberia.[2] People have imported and bred them in several other parts the world for aquarium or food purposes.

H. buttikoferi is an alien species in Thailand where it has been introduced for use as an aquarium fish.[3]

Etymology

The specific name honours the Swiss zoologist Johann Büttikofer (1850-1927), the collector of the type.[4]


See also

References

  1. Lalèyè, P. (2018). "Heterotilapia buettikoferi (amended version of 2010 assessment)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T181872A134883374. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T181872A134883374.en.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2013). "Tilapia buttikoferi" in FishBase. February 2013 version.
  3. "10 ปลาเอเลี่ยนในเมืองไทย ที่กำลังยึดแหล่งน้ำโดยคุณไม่รู้ตัว" (in Thai). spokedark. August 13, 2014. Archived from the original on June 30, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  4. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (4 December 2018). "Order CICHLIFORMES: Family CICHLIDAE: Subfamily PSEUDOCRENILABRINAE (h-k)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 27 January 2019.


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