Lake Malawi Cichlids
Lake Malawi was formed almost 2 million years ago. This rocky East African Rift Lake is almost 400 miles long and 50 miles wide. The ninth largest lake in the world it is bordered by Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Lake Malawi is dominated by cichlids endemic to this unique ecosystem Nearly 300 cichlid species have been described with estimates of many more. The largest group of Cichlids found in this lake is the Haplochromines with over 120 species, the Peacock Cichlids of the genus Aulonocara and the Mbuna group, which includes the generas,Cynotilapia, Labeotropheus, Labidochromis, Melanochromis, and Pseudotropheus.
