Tristramella
genus of fishes
Tristramella is a genus 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 (Kinneret), in Israel and Syria, with introduced populations in a few other places in Syria. Its members are among the few cichlids native to Western Asia, the others being Astatotilapia flaviijosephi, Coptodon zillii, Iranocichla, Oreochromis aureus, O. niloticus and Sarotherodon galilaeus.
Locally, T. simonis remains common and an important part of fisheries, but overall it has declined, and it is considered threatened. 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 25–28 cm (10–11 in) in total length. Overall they resemble typical tilapias 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, but also take other small invertebrates, tiny fish, macrophytes and detritus. They are mouth brooders 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.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Tristramella” as genus of fishes. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as genus of fishes. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 5, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q531595. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1989.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Tristramella” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.