Common names:
Singida tilapia
Lango: Anagu Lunyara: Binage Ludope: Mnege Lukenyi: Nsalia General: Ngege (Lake Victoria basin)

Taxonomic tree
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish)
Order: Cichliformes (Cichlids)
Family: Cichlidae (Cichlids)
Genus: Oreochromis
Species: Oreochromis esculentus (Graham, 1928)
Number of Occurrancies: 150

Etymology(based on Scharpf & Lazara, 2019)

• Oreochromis: oreos, mountains, referring to Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), location of O. hunteri, type species; chromis, possibly derived from chroemo (to neigh), referring to a drum (Sciaenidae) and its ability to make noise, later expanded to embrace cichlids, damselfishes, dottybacks and wrasses (all perch-like fishes once thought to be related), often used in the names of African cichlid genera following Chromis (now Oreochromis) mossambicus Peters 1852.


• esculentus:  edible, referring to an important edible commercial species of Lake Victoria

Synonyms: click here to view synonyms

Type locality: Lake Victoria, Kenya. Holotype at British Museum of Natural History (BMNH)

General identification features for "tilapiine" cichlids

• A single nostril on each side of the head; dorsal fin with contineous spinous and soft-rayed parts; lateral line interrupted(with anterior superior part and posterior inferior part)


• Cycloid scales


• Tilapia mark (dark spot at the posterior end of the dorsal fin) in juveniles

Distinguishing characters for the genus

• More gillrakers (usually 18-28) on the first gill arch


• Outermost teeth bicuspid in young and in adult females, but in mature males of several species becoming unicuspid by wear or replacement: Note that O. niloticus is an exception; some or all teeth of outermost row are replaced by tricuspids


• Genital papilla of male and female well developed


• Maternal mouth-brooders, usually with marked sexual dimorphism and discromatism (sexual differences related to size and color respectively) at breeding time; males have distinctive and conspicuous breeding colors and are often bigger than females


• Jaws that are greatly enlarged as fish matures, especially males


• Scales of belly smaller, in some species much smaller, than those of flanks; transition between the two sizes gradual or abrupt


• Pharyngeal teeth ranging from relatively coarse, with the length of the lower dentigerous area approximately equal to that of the blade or a little longer, to very fine on a reduced dentigerous area.

Distinguishing characte for the species

• Relatively deep bodied species but with no bump above the eye as seen in Oreochromis variabilis.


• Body color is redish brown; fins greyish, weakly if at all spotted; dorsal fin without coloured outline, or, if coloured, a deep red (but never orange).


• Breeding males have the ventral surface of the body sooty, and the flanks suffuesed with red; dark fins with red/pink dorsal margins, and red/pink caudal region. 


• Young fishes are silvery-grey; the Tilapia mark is a well-defined black spot outline in pale yellow.


• Length to depth ratio of the caudal peduncal 0.9-1.1 (Diagnostic)

Additional remarks

This species is critically endangered. During 1930s through 1960s, the species declined strongly due to intensive fishing. Later, competetion and hybridization with introduced tilapias, especially Oreochromis niloticus,  suppressed their recovery (Ogutu-Ohwayo, 1990). Remnant populations are still hanging especially in the minor lakes within Kyoga basin. 

Distribution in Uganda

Indigenous to Lake Victoria and its affluent rivers, Lakes Nabugabo, Kyoga basin, and the Victoria Nile, but now extirpated from the main lake and the remnant populations now occuring in satellite lakes.

Occurence: Native

Habitat: Benthopelagic; originally common in waters less than 20 m deep in sheltered gulfs and bays with soft algaceous mud bottom.  

Feeding: Mainly phytoplankton, especially diatoms. Less frequently insect larvae and planktonic crustaceans   

Biology: Female mouth-brooder; spawning occurs throughout the year but the greatest breeding activity occurs between September and May in accordance with rainfal patterns. No updated information on other biological apsects such as size at first maturity, fecundity, and growth. Historically, size at first maturity ranged between 18-20 cm total length (TL), while size at 50% maturity ranged between 20-22 cm. Fecundity ranged between 324-1672, while the fish attained 15 cm durint the first year. Maximum size is about 50 cm, common adult size 30-32 cm.

Economic importance/End use: The species is rare; in minor lakes within the Kyoga basi, it still contributes a small-scale subsistence fishery. 

IUCN conservation status: click here to view IUCN status

Threats: Hybridization with introduced tilapias

Main references

• Greenwood PH. 1966. The fishes of Uganda. The Uganda Society, Kampala. 131 pages.


• Twewavas E. 1983. Tilapiine fishes of the genera Sarotherodon, Oreochromis and Danakilia. British Museum (Natural History), London. 604 pages


• Sharpf C, Lazara J.K. 2019. Fish Name Etymology Database v5. www.etyfish.org


• Witte F & van Densen W.L.T. 1995. Fish Stocks and Fisheries of Lake Victoria: a handbook for field observations. Samara Publishing Limited, Netherlands


• Ogutu-Ohwyo, R., 1990a. The decline of the native fishes of lakes Victoria and Kyoga (East Africa) and the impact of introduced species, especially the Nile perch, Lates niloticus, and the Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. Environ. Biol. Fish. 27, 81–96.