v1i2.20

Submitted date: 06 August 2009
Accepted date: 28 September 2009
Published date: 22 November 2009
Pp. 126–129.

RECORD OF Oreochromis aureus (STEINDACHNER, 1864) (TELEOSTEI : PERCIFORMES : CICHLIDAE) IN THE NATURAL WATERS OF TAMIL NADU, INDIA

J.D. Marcus Knight* & K. Rema Devi
*Corresponding author. E-mail: jdmarcusknight@yahoo.co.in

Of the many fish introduced globally for aquaculture, Tilapia can be considered as the most widely introduced species. The Mozambique Tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus Peters, 1852, was the first species to be widely introduced for aquaculture. FAO Database on Introductions of Aquatic Species (2000 – 2009) states that O. mossambicus was first introduced to India during the year 1952 from Sri Lanka and Thailand for aquaculture with the idea of reservoir fisheries. O. niloticus Linnaeus, 1758, was introduced to India as late as 1990 from Thailand. O. mossambicus has found its way into the list of 100 of the World’s worst Invasive Alien Species published by Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG). It has established itself in the wild which may be attributed to intentional release or escapes from fish farms.

Section Editor: Upali Amarasinghe