Mozambique tilapia
Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters, 1852)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Oreochromis mossambicus or Mozambique Tilapia at the Cincinnati Zoo.
Greg Hume · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) is an oreochromine cichlid fish native to southeastern Africa. Dull colored, the Mozambique tilapia often lives up to a decade in its native habitats. It is a popular fish for aquaculture. Due to human introductions, it is now found in many tropical and subtropical habitats around the globe, where it can become an invasive species because of its robust nature. These same features make it a good species for aquaculture because it readily adapts to new situations.
Wikipedia contributors, Mozambique tilapia; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:29:34.815020+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters, 1852)
- Name authority
- (Peters, 1852)
- Common name
- Mozambique tilapia
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cichliformes
- Family
- Cichlidae
- Genus
- Oreochromis
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCichliformes
- familyCichlidae Bonaparte, 1835
- subfamilyPseudocrenilabrinae Fowler, 1934
- genusOreochromis Günther, 1889
- speciesOreochromis mossambicus (Peters, 1852)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Oreochromis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Oreochromis korogwe (Lowe, 1955) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oreochromis esculentus (Graham, 1928) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oreochromis grahami (Boulenger, 1912) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oreochromis shiranus Boulenger, 1897 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oreochromis amphimelas (Hilgendorf, 1905) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oreochromis leucostictus (Trewavas, 1933) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oreochromis ismailiaensis Mekkawy, 1995 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| blue tilapiaOreochromis aureus (Steindachner, 1864) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oreochromis jipe (Lowe, 1955) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oreochromis upembae (Thys van den Audenaerde, 1964) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oreochromis macrochir (Boulenger, 1912) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oreochromis cancellatus (Nichols, 1923) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=218777 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6T53D. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.