''Heterotilapia buttikoferi'', also known as the zebra tilapia, is a West African species of
cichlid.
Description
''H. buttikoferi'' is a large cichlid, capable of growing up to
in standard length. Body is typically yellow or white with black stripes which can vary from very light to near black depending on the mood of the fish. The vertical black bars are broader than the lighter interspaces.
[ Their stripes tend to fade as they age.
]
Distribution and habitat
This freshwater fish
Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, especially the difference in levels of ...
is native to large rivers in tropical West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...
from Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ), ...
to Liberia.alien species
An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...
in Thailand where it has been introduced for use as an aquarium fish.
Etymology
The specific name honours the Swiss zoologist
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...
Johann Büttikofer
Dr. Johann Büttikofer (9 August 1850 – 24 June 1927) was a Swiss zoologist. Büttikofer was born in Ranflüh (part of Rüderswil, Canton of Bern) in the Emmental. He is best known for his two zoological expeditions to the Republic of Liberia ( ...
(1850-1927), the collector of the type.
See also
* List of freshwater aquarium fish species
References
External links
Aquabase
NCBI
Tilapia
Taxa named by Ambrosius Hubrecht
Fish described in 1881
Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN
{{Tilapiini-stub