Oreochromis Upembae
📖 Overview
Overview information for Oreochromis Upembae is currently being compiled by our editorial team.
🔬 Taxonomy
🐟 Physical Description
Dorsal spines (total): 14 - 16; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11 - 13; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 9 - 12; Vertebrae: 29 - 30. Diagnosis: Oreochromis upembae is a deep-bodied species with a short head, which looks very similar to O. malagarasi . It is distinguished by following characters: mature males with a bifid and tuberculate genital papilla, prolonged into a cream-coloured tassel in breeding males, in which the edges of the dorsal and caudal fins are orange-coloured or red; two to four dark blotches mid-laterally from operculum to caudal peduncle and a blotch on top of caudal peduncle, distinctive in that the blotches are rather large and vaguely outlined and persist in adults; caudal fin with dark, narrow, vertical stripes or series of spots, only a little less regular than in O. niloticus; caudal rays rather densely scaled to near edge; caudal peduncle deep; vertebrae 29-30; scales in lateral line series 28-31; dorsal spines XIV-XVI, soft rays 11-13; outer teeth bicuspid, in some fishes becoming unicuspid by wear; lower pharyngeal teeth fine, the tooth area with rounded lateral lobes, the blade 1.15-1.5 times the medial length of the toothed area; lower gill-rakers 20-25; and interorbital width 38.8-43.3% length of head . Among the tasselled tilapias this most resembles O. malagarasi, which differs in having a less scaly caudal fin, the scales usually confined to the basal parts of the rays, and in lacking the regular dark stripes or series of spots on the caudal; and in O. malagarasi the range of dorsal spines is higher, XVI-XVII . : short and / or deep; Cross section: compressed.
🌀 Behaviour
Behavioural data for Oreochromis Upembae is currently being reviewed.
🦐 Diet
Diet information for Oreochromis Upembae is currently being compiled.
🥚 Reproduction
The female broods the young and eggs in the mouth in the shelter of sandbanks in the Congo River at Yangambi .
🌍 Habitat & Distribution
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical
🌿 Ecology
📐 Morphometrics
🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance
🛡️ Conservation Assessment
📊 Population Risk & Fisheries
🔍 Similar Species
👥 Community & Contribute
No observations yet - be the first to log one!
View all observations for Oreochromis Upembae ↗Spotted incorrect or outdated data? Submit a correction and our editorial team will review it. Approved edits go live within 48 hours.
Found a factual error, broken data, or inappropriate content? Let us know and we will investigate promptly.