[1] Its members are among the few cichlids native to Western Asia, the others being Astatotilapia flaviijosephi, Coptodon zillii, Iranocichla, Oreochromis aureus, O. niloticus and Sarotherodon galilaeus.

[4] In contrast, T. sacra has been extinct since 1989–90, possibly due to the disappearance of its breeding habitat, marshes in Lake Tiberias.

[6] Overall they resemble typical tilapias and the Tristramella species differ from each other mainly in details of their teeth, the proportional size of their head and the length of their jaw.

[9] The generic name Tristramella honours the English clergyman and naturalist Henry Baker Tristram (1822-1906) who collected cichlids in Palestine for the British Museum of Natural History.

[2] There are currently two recognized species in this genus:[6] Two other extinct populations, intermedia of Lake Hula and magdelainae of the vicinity of Damascus,[11][12] are of uncertain taxonomic status.