Oreochromis_hunteri
Lake Chala tilapia
Species of fish
The Lake Chala tilapia (Oreochromis hunteri) is a species of cichlid fish that is endemic to Lake Chala, a small crater lake on the border of Kenya and Rombo District of Kilimanjaro Region in Tanzania.[1][2] It mostly lives in relatively deep water, at depths between 20–45 m (66–148 ft).[3] It is considered critically endangered by the IUCN, with the two primary threats being deterioration of its habitat due to siltation,[1] and other non-native tilapia species that have been introduced to Lake Chala.[2][3] Before these introductions, the Lake Chala tilapia was the only fish in Lake Chala.[4] It is very closely related to the similar Jipe tilapia (O. jipe), another highly threatened species from the same general region of Kenya and Tanzania.[3][4] The Lake Chala tilapia can reach a standard length of up to 30 cm (12 in).[2]
The specific name hunteri honours the British zoologist Henry C. V. Hunter (1861-1934), who collected the type, and who provided notes on this species' distribution.[5] O. hunteri is the type species of the genus Oreochromis.[3]
