''Coptodon'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

cichlid Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted this ...

s native to fresh,

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

and coastal marine waters in Africa with ''C. zillii'' also found in the Middle East. It is the only genus in the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

Coptodonini. Formerly included in ''

Tilapia Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most ...

'', this genus and tribe was separated in 2013.Dunz, A.R. & Schliewen, U.K. (2013): Molecular phylogeny and revised classification of the haplotilapiine cichlid fishes formerly referred to as ''“Tilapia”''. ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Available online 29 March 2013 doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2013.03.015'' Despite the change in genus, ''Coptodon'' spp. are still referred to by the common name

tilapia Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most ...

. Several species are important in local fisheries and a few are

aquacultured Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

Appearance

Depending on the exact species, the maximum length of ''Coptodon'' ranges from ; the smallest is ''C. snyderae'', which also is the smallest tilapia. Although the individual species typically have different nonbreeding and breeding colors, the sexes are alike. Some of the species are very similar and difficult to distinguish from each other.

Behavior

Unlike the well-known oreochromine tilapia that are

mouthbrooder Mouthbrooding, also known as oral incubation and buccal incubation, is the care given by some groups of animals to their offspring by holding them in the mouth of the parent for extended periods of time. Although mouthbrooding is performed by a va ...

s, ''Coptodon'' spp. are substrate brooders. In most species, the parents excavate a "nest" in the bottom, ranging from a depression to actual tunnels, but a few species use surfaces of stones or sunken wood. The eggs are laid in the nest, and the eggs and fry are guarded by both parents. ''Coptodon'' spp. mostly feed on plant material (both

phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'. Ph ...

and

higher plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They a ...

s) and

detritus In biology, detritus () is dead particulate organic material, as distinguished from dissolved organic material. Detritus typically includes the bodies or fragments of bodies of dead organisms, and fecal material. Detritus typically hosts commun ...

with smaller quantities of invertebrates, but in

Lake Bermin Lake Bermin (sometimes spelled Bemin or Beme) is a small lake in the volcanic chain in the Southwest Region of Cameroon. It is a volcanic lake with a diameter of about Martin; Cutler; Friel; Touokong; Coop; and Wainwright (2015). Complex histori ...

and

Lake Ejagham Lake Ejagham is a small lake near Eyumodjock in the Southwest Region, Cameroon, Southwest Region of Cameroon. Unlike many other lakes in the region, it is not a volcanic lake, but is likely a solution basin formed by groundwater during the last gl ...

, a level of segregation has occurred among the species, including specialists that mostly feed on

sponge Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through t ...

s (''C. gutturosa'' and ''C. spongotroktis''), small fish (''C. ejagham''), or

zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

(''C. fusiforme'').

Conservation status

''C. rendalli'' and ''C. zillii'' have been introduced widely outside their native ranges, and are considered invasive, but most remaining members of the genus (including four

endemics Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

in Lake Ejagham and nine in Lake Bermin) have small ranges, and many species are seriously threatened. Considered

data deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

, the virtually unknown ''C. ismailiaensis'' may be

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of the equally poorly known ''Oreochromis ismailiaensis'', or the widespread and common ''C. zillii''. Regardless, the only known habitat of ''C. ismailiaensis'' (and ''Oreochromis ismailiaensis'') in Egypt appears to have disappeared entirely.

Species

Currently, 31 species are recognized in this genus: * '' Coptodon bakossiorum'' ( Stiassny, Schliewen & Dominey, 1992) * '' Coptodon bemini'' ( Thys van den Audenaerde, 1972) * '' Coptodon bythobates'' ( Stiassny, Schliewen & Dominey, 1992) * '' Coptodon cameronensis'' (

Holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

, 1927) * '' Coptodon camerunensis'' ( Lönnberg, 1903) * '' Coptodon coffea'' ( Thys van den Audenaerde, 1970) * '' Coptodon congica'' (

Poll Poll, polled, or polling may refer to: Figurative head counts * Poll, a formal election ** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts ** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions ** Polling places o ...

& Thys van den Audenaerde, 1960) * '' Coptodon dageti'' (Thys van den Audenaerde, 1971) * '' Coptodon deckerti'' (Thys van den Audenaerde, 1967) * '' Coptodon discolor'' ( Günther, 1903) * '' Coptodon ejagham'' ( Dunz & Schliewen, 2010) * '' Coptodon flava'' (Stiassny, Schliewen & Dominey, 1992) * '' Coptodon fusiforme'' (Dunz & Schliewen, 2010) * '' Coptodon guineensis'' (Günther, 1862) (Guinean tilapia) * '' Coptodon gutturosa'' (Stiassny, Schliewen & Dominey, 1992) * '' Coptodon imbriferna'' (Stiassny, Schliewen & Dominey, 1992) * '' Coptodon ismailiaensis'' ( Mekkawy, 1995) * '' Coptodon konkourensis'' (Dunz & Schliewen, 2012) * '' Coptodon kottae'' ( Lönnberg, 1904) * '' Coptodon louka'' (Thys van den Audenaerde, 1969) * '' Coptodon margaritacea'' ( Boulenger, 1916) * '' Coptodon nigrans'' (Dunz & Schliewen, 2010) * '' Coptodon nyongana'' (Thys van den Audenaerde, 1971) * ''

Coptodon rendalli The redbreast tilapia (''Coptodon rendalli'') is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It is found widely in the southern half of Africa. Its natural habitats are freshwater lakes and freshwater marshes. It is known as the redbreast kurper ...

'' (Boulenger, 1897) (redbreast tilapia) * '' Coptodon rheophila'' ( Daget, 1962) * '' Coptodon snyderae'' (Stiassny, Schliewen & Dominey, 1992) * '' Coptodon spongotroktis'' (Stiassny, Schliewen & Dominey, 1992) * '' Coptodon tholloni'' ( Sauvage, 1884) * '' Coptodon thysi'' (Stiassny, Schliewen & Dominey, 1992) * '' Coptodon walteri'' (Thys van den Audenaerde, 1968) * ''

Coptodon zillii 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 ...

'' ( Gervais, 1848) (redbelly tilapia)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14773761 Pseudocrenilabrinae