Large food and game fish (family Latidae) found in the Nile and other African rivers and lakes.
The Nile perch ( Lates niloticus ) has a large mouth and is greenish or brownish above, silvery below. It grows to about 6 ft (1.8 m) and weighs 300 lbs (140 kg). It has a slender body, a protruding lower jaw, a rounded tail, and two dorsal fins. Other species in the same family are found in African river systems and in Asian and Australian estuaries and coastal waters. The members of the family are sometimes classified with snooks (family Centropomidae).