''Oreochromis macrochir'' (longfin tilapia, greenhead tilapia, or greenhead bream) is a species of cichlid native to the

Zambezi The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...

Basin,

Lake Mweru Lake Mweru (also spelled ''Mwelu'', ''Mwero'') is a freshwater lake on the longest arm of Africa's second-longest river, the Congo. Located on the border between Zambia and Democratic Republic of the Congo, it makes up of the total length of th ...

, and

Lake Bangweulu Bangweulu — 'where the water sky meets the sky' — is one of the world's great wetland systems, comprising Lake Bangweulu, the Bangweulu Swamps and the Bangweulu Flats or floodplain.Camerapix: ''Spectrum Guide to Zambia.'' Camerapix Internation ...

. It has been used extensively for stocking ponds and dams in other parts of southern Africa, but is little-used elsewhere. In Lake Mweru, it is economically the most important fish. The fish was introduced into

Lake Alaotra Lake Alaotra ( mg, farihin' Alaotra, ; french: Lac Alaotra) is the largest lake in Madagascar, located in Alaotra-Mangoro Region and on the island's northern central plateau. Its basin is composed of shallow freshwater lakes and marshes surrounded ...

in Madagascar in 1954, and proliferated quickly. By 1957, it provided 46% of the catch, perhaps because it was moving into an empty ecological niche as a

phytophagous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpar ...

species. This species reaches a maximum length of . It lives in fresh water at a depth from in tropical climates with average temperatures between 18 and 35 °C (64 and 95 °F).

References

macrochir Freshwater fish of Central Africa Fish of Mozambique Fish described in 1912 {{Tilapiini-stub