''Tristramella'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of oreochromines, freshwater fishes in the cichlid family. The members of this genus prefer standing waters and their native range is restricted to the Jordan River system, including

Lake Tiberias The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest f ...

(Kinneret), in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and Syria, with introduced populations in a few other places in Syria. Its members are among the few cichlids native to

Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...

, the others being ''

Astatotilapia flaviijosephi ''Astatotilapia flaviijosephi'', the Jordan mouthbrooder, is a vulnerable species of freshwater fish in the family Cichlidae (cichlids). It is found in the central Jordan River system, including Lake Tiberias (Kinneret), in Israel, Jordan and ...

'', '' Coptodon zillii'', ''

Iranocichla ''Iranocichla'' is a genus of fish in the family Cichlidae found in fresh and brackish waters in southern Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bo ...

'', ''

Oreochromis aureus The blue tilapia (''Oreochromis aureus'') is a species of tilapia, a fish in the family Cichlidae. Native to Northern and Western Africa, and the Middle East, through introductions it is now also established elsewhere, including parts of the U ...

'', '' O. niloticus'' and ''

Sarotherodon galilaeus ''Sarotherodon'' is a genus of oreochromine cichlids that are native to the northern half of Africa (south as far as the Congo River basin), with a single species, ''S. galilaeus'', also ranging into the Levant. A couple of species from this g ...

''. Locally, ''T. simonis'' remains common and an important part of fisheries, but overall it has declined and it is considered

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

. In contrast, ''T. sacra'' has been extinct since 1989–90, possibly due to the disappearance of its breeding habitat, marshes in Lake Tiberias. ''Tristramella'' reach up to in total length. Overall they resemble typical

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 ...

s and the ''Tristramella'' species differ from each other mainly in details of their teeth, the proportional size of their head and the length of their jaw. They feed mostly on phyto– and

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 ...

, but also take other small invertebrates, tiny fish, macrophytes and detritus. They 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 that lay a relatively small number (up to 250) of relatively large eggs. Although hybrids are well-known among tilapias, hybrids between ''Tristramella'' and other tilapias are unknown. Despite both living in Lake Tiberias and them being close relatives, hybridization between ''T. simonis'' and the now-extinct ''T. sacra'' also is not known to have occurred. The

generic Generic or generics may refer to: In business * Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark * Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...

name ''Tristramella'' honours the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

clergyman and naturalist

Henry Baker Tristram Henry Baker Tristram FRS (11 May 1822 – 8 March 1906) was an English clergyman, Bible scholar, traveller and ornithologist. As a parson-naturalist he was an early supporter of Darwinism, attempting to reconcile evolution and creation. Biogra ...

(1822-1906) who collected cichlids in Palestine for the

British Museum of Natural History The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum ...

. In the past they were included in the genus ''

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 ...

'' instead.

Taxonomy and species

There are currently two recognized species in this genus: * †'' Tristramella sacra'' ( Günther, 1865) – long jaw tristramella * '' Tristramella simonis'' ( Günther, 1864) – short jaw tristramella Two other extinct populations, '' intermidia'' of

Lake Hula A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

and '' magdelainea'' of the vicinity of Damascus, are of uncertain taxonomic status. In the past, they were recognized as subspecies of ''T. simonis'' by FishBase and they are still recognized as valid, separate species by the IUCN, which however has not reviewed their status since 2006. Today FishBase and

Catalog of Fishes Catalog of Fishes is a comprehensive on-line database and reference work on the scientific names of fish species and genera. It is global in its scope and is hosted by the California Academy of Sciences. It has been compiled and is continuously u ...

consider both ''intermidia'' and ''magdelainea'' as synonyms of ''T. simonis''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q531595 Oreochromini Taxa named by Ethelwynn Trewavas Cichlid genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot