''Mchenga'' is a small

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

haplochromine __NOTOC__ The haplochromine cichlids are a tribe of cichlids in subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae called Haplochromini. This group includes the type genus ('' Haplochromis'') plus a number of closely related genera such as ''Aulonocara'', ''Astatoti ...

cichlid Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted th ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fres ...

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the histori ...

. They are part of a group known as

utaka '' Copadichromis azureus'', one of the utaka of Lake Malawi in Africa Utaka is the term used for open water-dwelling cichlids found in Lake Malawi, the most diverse source of cichlids in the world of aquaria. Among others, they comprise all the m ...

Species

There are currently six recognized species in this genus: * ''

Mchenga conophoros ''Mchenga conophoros'' is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It is endemic to Lake Malawi, where it has been collected around the Nankumba Peninsula in Malawi. Its natural habitat is freshwater lake A lake is an area filled with wa ...

'' ( Stauffer, LoVullo & McKaye, 1993) * ''

Mchenga cyclicos ''Mchenga cyclicos'' is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It is endemic to Lake Malawi, where it has been collected near the Nankumba Peninsula of Malawi. Its natural habitat is freshwater lake A lake is an area filled with water, ...

'' ( Stauffer, LoVullo & McKaye, 1993) * ''

Mchenga eucinostomus ''Mchenga eucinostomus'' is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It is found in Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Its natural habitat is freshwater lakes. ''Mchenga eucinostomus'' is a Lekking fish, the males build sand castles. The lek me ...

'' (

Regan The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri' ...

, 1922) * ''

Mchenga flavimanus ''Mchenga flavimanus'' is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It is endemic to Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the Eas ...

'' (

Iles Iles is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Albert Iles (1914–1979), English footballer *Alex Iles, American musician *Bob Iles (born 1955), English footballer *Bradley Iles (born 1983), New Zealand golfer * Brian Iles, American ...

, 1960) * ''

Mchenga inornata ''Mchenga inornata'' is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It is endemic to Lake Malawi in Malawi. Its natural habitat is freshwater lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct ...

'' ( Boulenger, 1908) * ''

Mchenga thinos ''Mchenga thinos'' is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It is endemic to Lake Malawi, where it is distributed lake-wide. Its natural habitat is freshwater lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded ...

'' ( Stauffer, LoVullo & McKaye, 1993)

References

Haplochromini * Cichlid genera Taxa named by Jay Richard Stauffer Jr. Taxa named by Ad Konings {{Cichlidae-stub