A new species of tilapiine cichlid from the Pliocene, Middle Awash, Ethiopia

Abstract

The Middle Awash sites in Ethiopia, known for the find of one of the earliest known hominids—†Ardipithecus ramidus—have also yielded many fish and other vertebrate fossils. The Middle Awash locality has sites ranging from late Miocene through to the Pleistocene, and provides the first extensive record of fossil fish in Ethiopia. This ichthyofauna includes many specimens of a tilapiine cichlid referable to the living genus Oreochromis. These cichlids are here described as a new species, †Oreochromis (Oreochromis) harrisae, based on several osteological characters. The relationships of tilapiine cichlids are not well established. Few osteological studies of tilapiine cichlids have been done, and those that have tend to concentrate on pharyngeal characters that are phylogenetically useful at the generic and specific level, but not as useful at higher levels. The characters used in this paper may be useful to determine relationships among genera within the Tilapiini.