Freshwater fishes of Israel; a revised and updated annotated checklist- 2023 Author Çiçek, Erdoğan Department of Biology, Faculty of Art and Sciences, Nevşehir Hacı BektaşVeli University, Nevşehir, Türkiye Author Fricke, Ronald Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde in Stuttgart, Rosenstein 1, 70191 Stuttgart, Germany Author Sungur, Sevil Health Services Vocational School, Nevşehir Hacı BektaşVeli University, Nevşehir, Türkiye Author Çapar, Osman Bahadir Faculty of Fisheries, Cukurova University, Türkiye Author Golani, Daniel Deparment of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel text Zootaxa 2023 2023-11-13 5369 4 451 484 https://www.mapress.com/zt/article/download/zootaxa.5369.4.1/52255 journal article 278560 10.11646/zootaxa.5369.4.1 8a95fa8d-aaf9-4550-9a5b-0e8408ecb1bd 1175-5326 10146651 62878FA8-7CC7-462C-9FBF-C9BAEF177855 Oreochromis aureus ( Steindachner, 1864 ) [N]—Blue tilapia; Amnun ha’yarden Taxonomy. Original description: Chromis aureus Steindachner, 1864: 229 , pl. 8, fig. 5 [locality unknown; no types known].— Israel synonyms: Tilapia aurea ( Steindachner, 1864 ) .—Revisions: Trewavas (1965: 265) as Tilapia aurea ; Trewavas (1982: 12) .—Illustration: Steindachner (1864: 229 , pl. 8, fig. 5). Status in Israel . First record from Israel by Günther (1869) as Tilapia aurea ; confirmed by Goren (1974: 102) , Goren & Ortal (1999: 4) .—Israel material: HUJ. Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Israel : Jordan River basin including Lake Kinneret and the coastal plain.— Distribution in River Basin: 2-Dead Sea Basin, 3-Kinneret Basin.—General distribution: Middle East and Africa. Introduced widely elsewhere.—Distribution in Ecoregion: 438- Jordan River.—Habitat: This species inhabits a very wide range of flowing water habitats, from fast-flowing headwaters and reservoirs to polluted canals and large lowland rivers. It is the most environmentally tolerant of all tilapia species, tolerating lack of oxygen, pollution, salinity, etc. Low water temperatures (below 10–13 ° C) limit its occurrence. Freshwater, brackish. Economic importance. Commercially important. Conservation. Conservation status in Israel : Unknown.—IUCN: NE (2023).—Threats: Unknown.—Low sensitivity to human activities.—Not considered a keystone species.—Decline status: Unknown.—Low priority for conservation action. Remarks. It was hybridized with other cichlids like Oreochromis mossambicus , Oreochromis niloticus , and O. urolepis for amelioation and husbandry of aquaculture.