| Nile tilapia
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Wild type above,
aquacultured type (likely of hybrid origin) below
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| Scientific classification
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| Kingdom:
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Animalia
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| Phylum:
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Chordata
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| Class:
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Actinopterygii
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| Order:
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Cichliformes
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| Family:
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Cichlidae
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| Genus:
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Oreochromis
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| Species:
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O. niloticus
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| Binomial name
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Oreochromis niloticus
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| Synonyms
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- Tilapia crassispina Arambourg, 1948
- Perca nilotica Linnaeus, 1758
- Chromis nilotica (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Chromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Oreochromis nilotica (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Oreochromis niloticus niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Sarotherodon niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Tilapia nilotica (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Tilapia nilotica nilotica (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Chromis guentheri Steindachner, 1864
- Tilapia eduardiana Boulenger, 1912
- Oreochromis niloticus eduardianus (Boulenger, 1912)
- Tilapia nilotica eduardiana Boulenger, 1912
- Tilapia cancellata Nichols, 1923
- Oreochromis cancellatus cancellatus (Nichols, 1923)
- Oreochromis niloticus cancellatus (Nichols, 1923)
- Tilapia nilotica cancellata Nichols, 1923
- Tilapia calciati Gianferrari, 1924
- Tilapia regani Poll, 1932
- Tilapia nilotica regani Poll, 1932
- Tilapia inducta Trewavas, 1933
- Tilapia vulcani Trewavas, 1933
- Oreochromis niloticus vulcani (Trewavas, 1933)
- Oreochromis vulcani (Trewavas, 1933)
- Oreochromis niloticus baringoensis Trewavas, 1983
- Oreochromis niloticus filoa Trewavas, 1983
- Oreochromis cancellatus filoa Trewavas, 1983
- Oreochromis niloticus sugutae Trewavas, 1983
- Oreochromis niloticus tana Seyoum & Kornfield, 1992
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The Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is a species of tilapia, a cichlid occurring naturally in parts of Africa (such as its namesake Nile River) and the Levant, though numerous introduced populations exist outside its natural range. This current wide range is caused by its high commercial value as a food fish, where it is marketed as mango fish (not to be confused with the mango tilapia, or Sarotherodon galilaeus), nilotica, or boulti, along with many other names, both local and foreign. Due to its value, the Nile tilapia is widely aquacultured across the world due to its hardiness and a mode of reproduction conducive to mass rearing, namely mouthbrooding, and various attempts have been made to increase production yields, including hybridization with other tilapias.