Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately 59,947 km2 (23,146 sq mi), Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after Lake Superior in North America. In terms of volume, Lake Victoria is the world's ninth-largest continental lake, containing about 2,424 km3 (1.965×109 acre⋅ft) of water. Lake Victoria occupies a shallow depression in Africa. The lake has an average depth of 40 m (130 ft) and a maximum depth of 80–81 m (262–266 ft). Its catchment area covers 169,858 km2 (65,583 sq mi). The lake has a shoreline of 7,142 km (4,438 mi) when digitized at the 1:25,000 level, with islands constituting 3.7% of this length.
Tilapia is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes, with the economically most important species placed in the Coptodonini and Oreochromini. Tilapia are mainly freshwater fish inhabiting shallow streams, ponds, rivers, and lakes, and less commonly found living in brackish water. Historically, they have been of major importance in artisanal fishing in Africa, and they are of increasing importance in aquaculture and aquaponics. Tilapia can become a problematic invasive species in new warm-water habitats such as Australia, whether deliberately or accidentally introduced, but generally not in temperate climates due to their inability to survive in cold water.
Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is the second-largest freshwater lake by volume and the second deepest, in both cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. The lake is shared among four countries—Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Zambia—with Tanzania (46%) and the DRC (40%) possessing the majority of the lake. It drains into the Congo River system and ultimately into the Atlantic Ocean.
Xiphophorus is a genus of euryhaline and freshwater fishes in the family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes, native to Mexico and northern Central America. Xiphophorus species can be divided into 3 groups based on their evolutionary relationships: platyfish, northern swordtails, and southern swordtails. Platyfish formerly were classified in another genus, Platypoecilus, which is now obsolete. The type species is X. hellerii, the green swordtail. Like most other new world Poeciliids, platies and swordtails are live-bearers that use internal fertilization and give birth to live young instead of laying eggs like the bulk of the world's fishes. The name Xiphophorus derives from the Greek words ξίφος (dagger) and φόρος (bearer), referring to the gonopodium on the males. All are relatively small fishes, which reach a maximum length of 3.5–16 cm (1.4–6.3 in) depending on the exact species involved.
Lake Chapala has been Mexico's largest freshwater lake since the desiccation of Lake Texcoco in the early 17th century.
Los Tuxtlas is a region in the south of the Mexican state of Veracruz.
Oreochromis is a large genus of oreochromine cichlids, fishes endemic to Africa and the Middle East. A few species from this genus have been introduced far outside their native range and are important in aquaculture. Many others have very small ranges; some are seriously threatened, and O. ismailiaensis and O. lidole possibly are extinct. Although Oreochromis primarily are freshwater fish of rivers, lakes and similar habitats, several species can also thrive in brackish waters and some even survive in hypersaline conditions with a salinity that far surpasses that of seawater. In addition to overfishing and habitat loss, some of the more localized species are threatened by the introduction of other, more widespread Oreochromis species into their ranges. This is because they—in addition to competing for the local resources—often are able to hybridize.
Throughout much of the tropics, tilapiine cichlids native to Africa and the Levant have been widely introduced into a variety of aquatic systems. In the U.S. states of Florida and Texas, tilapia were originally introduced to curtail invasive plants. In an effort to meet the growing demand for tilapia, humans have farmed these fish in countries around the world. Capable of establishing themselves into new ponds and waterways, many tilapia have escaped aquaculture facilities across much of Asia, Africa, and South America. In other cases, tilapia have been established into new aquatic habitats via aquarists or ornamental fish farmers.
The rainbow goodeid is a species of critically endangered freshwater fish in the family Goodeidae, and are endemic to Mexico. Specifically, they are found in shallow springs and ponds in the Durango and Coahuila area. They were first identified in 1866 by Albert Günther.
The Veracruz moist forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forests ecoregion in eastern Mexico.
The blue tilapia is a species of tilapia, a fish in the family Cichlidae. Native to Northern and Western Africa, and the Middle East, through introductions it is now also established elsewhere, including parts of the United States, where it has been declared an invasive species and has caused significant environmental damage. It is known as the blue kurper in South Africa.
Catemaco is a municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is located in the state's Los Tuxtlas region. The municipal seat is the city of Catemaco.
San Andrés Tuxtla is a city and municipality in the south of the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is the largest in the Los Tuxtlas region. It was founded after an eruption of the San Martín Volcano pushed people into this valley during the early colonial period. Since the 19th century, the area has been the center of Mexico's production of fine tobacco, mostly used in the making of cigars.
Sardinella tawilis is a freshwater sardine found exclusively in the Philippines. It is the only member of the genus Sardinella known to exist entirely in fresh water. Locally, they are known in Filipino as tawilis.
Eyipantla Falls is a waterfall located in the Los Tuxtlas region of southern Veracruz in Mexico. It is forty meters wide and fifty meters tall and is the largest and most important waterfall in the region.
Lake Kanyaboli is the largest oxbow lake in Kenya and the second largest in Africa,formed after River Yala disconnected from its course at the meander stage, leaving behind a U-shaped lake. The lake is found in Siaya County in western Kenya and is home to a variety of fish species that have almost disappeared from Lake Victoria, the country's largest freshwater lake.
Astyanax aeneus, the banded tetra, is a small species of fish native to southern Central America and northern South America. It can be found in a variety of environments, including lakes, rivers, ponds, and slightly brackish locales like lagoons. As well as a varied habitat, it has a varied omnivorous diet: algae, seeds, leaves, insects, and fish fry appear to be the most common.
Xiphophorus milleri, the Catemaco platyfish, is a poeciliid fish endemic to Mexico's Lake Catemaco and its tributaries. As it has traits of both swordtails and platies, its discovery confirmed that these two groups should be consolidated into a single genus, Xiphophorus.
Astyanax caballeroi is a small species of freshwater fish endemic to a single lake system in Mexico. It has a longer snout and more slender body than most other species in the genus Astyanax, thought to be the result of predatory behavior; while A. caballeroi eats invertebrates and smaller fish, other Astyanax species are more broadly omnivorous, and have deeper bodies with shorter snouts. This difference in body shape once placed A. caballeroi, along with several other species of Astyanax, into the former genus Bramocharax.
Poecilia catemaconis, the bicolor molly, is a livebearer fish from Mexico.
