Coptodon zillii (Gervais, 1848)
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 redbelly tilapia (Coptodon zillii, syn. Tilapia zillii), also known as the Zille's redbreast tilapia or St. Peter's fish (a name also used for other tilapia in Israel), is a species of fish in the cichlid family. This fish is found widely in fresh and brackish waters in the northern half of Africa and the Middle East. Elsewhere in Africa, Asia, Australia and North America, it has been introduced as a food fish or as a control of aquatic vegetation. Where introduced, it sometimes becomes invasive, threatening the local ecology and species. The redbelly tilapia is an important food fish and sometimes aquacultured.
The species was named by Paul Gervais in honor of M. (probably Monsieur) Zill, a "distinguished naturalist" who collected the type specimen and sent it to Gervais.
Wikipedia contributors, Redbelly tilapia; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:23:59.974824+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Coptodon zillii (Gervais, 1848)
- Name authority
- (Gervais, 1848)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cichliformes
- Family
- Cichlidae
- Genus
- Coptodon
- 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
- genusCoptodon Gervais, 1853
- speciesCoptodon zillii (Gervais, 1848)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Coptodon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Coptodon bakossiorum (Stiassny, Schliewen & Dominey, 1992) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Coptodon kottae (Lönnberg, 1904) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Coptodon cameronensis (Holly, 1927) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Coptodon congica (Poll & Thys van den Audenaerde, 1960) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Coptodon dageti (Thys van den Audenaerde, 1971) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Coptodon deckerti (Thys van den Audenaerde, 1967) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Coptodon discolor (Günther, 1903) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Coptodon ejagham (Dunz & Schliewen, 2010) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Coptodon flavus (Stiassny, Schliewen & Dominey, 1992) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Coptodon gutturosus (Stiassny, Schliewen & Dominey, 1992) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Coptodon imbrifernus (Stiassny, Schliewen & Dominey, 1992) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Coptodon konkourensis (Dunz & Schliewen, 2012) | 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=317356 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:Y7M9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.