''Mchenga'' is a small

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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'', '' Astatotila ...

cichlid Cichlids () are a large, diverse, and widespread family of percomorph fish in the family Cichlidae, order Cichliformes. At least 1,760 species have been scientifically described, making it one of the largest vertebrate families, with on ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

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

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

. They are part of a group known as

utaka '' Copadichromis azureus'', one of the utaka of Lake Malawi in Africa Utaka is a term used for multiple open water-dwelling cichlid species that are found in Lake Malawi, the most diverse source of cichlids in the world of aquaria. Among others, ...

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 often a naturally occ ...

'' ( 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 often a naturally occurri ...

'' ( 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 A lek is an aggregation of male animals ...

'' ( Regan, 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 Lakes, African Great Lake and the south ...

'' (

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, Americ ...

, 1960) * ''

Mchenga inornata ''Mchenga'' is a small genus of haplochromine cichlids endemism, endemic to Lake Malawi in East Africa. They are part of a group known as utaka. Species There are currently six recognized species in this genus: * ''Mchenga conophoros'' (Jay Rich ...

'' (

Boulenger Boulenger is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Benjamin Boulenger (born 1990), French footballer * Edward George Boulenger (1888–1946), British zoologist, director of aquarium at London Zoo * George Albert Boulenger (1858– ...

, 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 often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed bod ...

'' ( Stauffer, LoVullo & McKaye, 1993)

References

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