Tristramella simonis

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Tristramella simonis
In the
Tisch Family Zoo
, Israel
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cichliformes
Family: Cichlidae
Genus: Tristramella
Species:
T. simonis
Binomial name
Tristramella simonis
(
Günther
, 1864)
Synonyms
  • Chromis simonis Günther, 1864
  • Tilapia simonis (Günther, 1864)
  • Tilapia magdalenae (Lortet, 1883)
  • Tristramella magdalenae (Lortet, 1883)
  • Tristramella intermedia Steinitz & Ben-Tuvia, 1959

Tristramella simonis, the short jaw tristramella, is a

Lake Tiberias (Kinneret), in Israel and Syria, with introduced populations in the Nahr al-Kabir and Orontes basins in Syria.[1][2] It prefers waters with little or no movement.[2] Along with other tilapias, T. simonis is commonly caught as a food fish in parts of its range and it is commercially important in Lake Tiberias.[1][3]

Conservation status and taxonomy

It is the only member of the

IUCN, which however has not reviewed their status since 2006.[5][6] Today FishBase and Catalog of Fishes consider both intermidia and magdelainea as synonyms of T. simonis.[7][8]

In contrast to the conservation status in much of its native range, a survey in Syria in 2008 found that T. simonis had been introduced to the Nahr al-Kabir and Orontes basins. It was abundant at some of these locations, even thriving in man-made habitats like reservoirs.[2]

Appearance and behavior

Illustration of the extinct T. sacra, which has a longer head and a more protruding lower jaw than T. simonis[9][10]

This species can reach a total length of 25.8 cm (10.2 in),[11] but adults typically are 18–21 cm (7–8.5 in).[9] It resembles a typical tilapia, usually being overall olive–brownish to golden–brownish, sometimes with a banded pattern. Compared to the extinct T. sacra, T. simonis has a proportionally shorter head and its lower jaw at most protrudes slightly past the upper jaw.[9][10] They also differ in their teeth (number and shape) and certain meristics.[10][11] If recognized as valid, the extinct intermidia and magdelainea only differ slightly in proportions and other details compared to T. simonis.[9][10]

T. simonis mostly feeds on

benthic invertebrates.[9][12] In Lake Tiberias, adults are found in open-water schools for much of the year, while the young live in sheltered habitats near the shore.[3] The species can reach maturity when 16 cm (6.5 in) long,[9] and breeding is from March to August, with a female being able to spawn two or three times in a season.[12] It is a mouthbrooder, but some sources indicate this only is done by the female,[1][9] while others indicate it is done by both parents.[12] There are up to 250 relatively large eggs,[9] which are laid on the open bottom in a "nest" in water less than 3 m (10 ft) deep.[4] Shortly after they are picked up in the parent's mouth. The juveniles stay in the mouth after they hatch from the eggs, only leaving their parent when they reach about 1.4 cm (0.55 in).[9]

Although

parasitizing T. simonis (even when still common, T. sacra was not attacked by this fish louse).[11]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T61362A19010371.en
    . Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e Borkenhagen, K.; J. Freyhof (2009). "New records of the Levantine endemic cichlid Tristramella simonis from Syria". Cybium. 33 (4): 335–336.
  3. ^ a b c Gophen, M. (2018). Ecological Research in the Lake Kinneret and Hula Valley (Israel) Ecosystems. pp. 10–11, 234, 247–248.
  4. ^ a b Gophen, S. (2017), Ecological Dynamics in the Kinneret Littoral Ecosystem
  5. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2006.RLTS.T60792A12399367.en
    .
  6. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2006.RLTS.T61365A12468486.en
    .
  7. ^ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). Species of Tristramella in FishBase. November 2019 version.
  8. ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Tristramella". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  9. ^
    ISBN 978-94-009-9954-1
    .
  10. ^
    doi:10.1080/00222936008650912
    .
  11. ^
    JSTOR 2407360
    .
  12. ^ a b c Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Tristramella simonis" in FishBase. November 2019 version.
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