tilapia
Sarotherodon galilaeus (Linnaeus, 1758)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The mango tilapia (Sarotherodon galilaeus) is a species of fish from the cichlid family that is native to fresh and brackish waters in Africa and the Levant. Other common names include Galilaea tilapia, Galilean comb, Galilee St. Peter's fish, and St. Peter's fish. (To differentiate from other Israeli species of "St. Peter's fish" see below.) This is a relatively large cichlid at up to 41 centimetres (16 in) in total length and about 1.6 kilograms (3.5 lb) in weight. It is very important to local fisheries and the species is also aquacultured.
In addition to the nominate subspecies, four subspecies are recognised. These are:
Sarotherodon galilaeus borkuanus in Chad
Sarotherodon galilaeus boulengeri
Sarotherodon galilaeus multifasciatus in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana
Sarotherodon galilaeus sanagaensis
It is a mouthbrooder. The mating strategies can vary. Both uni-parent and bi-parent mouthbrooding is used, and monogamous or polygamous behaviour.
Wikipedia contributors, Mango tilapia; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:30:22.506899+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Sarotherodon galilaeus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- tilapia
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cichliformes
- Family
- Cichlidae
- Genus
- Sarotherodon
- 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
- genusSarotherodon Rüppell, 1852
- speciesSarotherodon galilaeus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Sarotherodon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Sarotherodon linnellii (Lönnberg, 1903) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sarotherodon nigripinnis (Guichenot, 1861) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sarotherodon lohbergeri (Holly, 1930) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| blackchin tilapiaSarotherodon melanotheron Rüppell, 1852 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sarotherodon mvogoi (Thys van den Audenaerde, 1965) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sarotherodon steinbachi (Trewavas, 1962) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Sarotherodon niger | 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=293731 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:79NR6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.