Maylandia or Metriaclima is a genus of haplochromine cichlids endemic to Lake Malawi in East Africa. They belong to the mbuna (rock-dwelling) haplochromines. All species in this genus are relatively small fishes, less than 20 cm in length. Like most Lake Malawi cichlids, exhibit brood care via maternal mouthbrooding. Numerous members of the genus are traded as aquarium fish. They are attractive because they are brightly colored and often very sexually dimorphic; like other cichlids they are not suited for beginners and for most companion tanks.

Name

The name Maylandia, honours the cichlid enthusiast and author about aquaria Hans Joachim Mayland, who died in 2004, was proposed as a subgenus of Pseudotropheus in 1984, naming the long-known but undescribed "Ice Blue Zebra" as the type species. In 1997 Stauffer et al. described the genus Metriaclima, dismissing the pre-existing Maylandia on the assumption that it lacked a type species and a diagnosis. Two years later Condé and Géry published an analysis and declared Metriaclima to be a junior synonym of Maylandia, and Maylandia hence the valid name of the genus, a view accepted by most ichthyologists. A few authors, notably Ad Konings, dispute that the original description of Maylandia is sufficient to establish and maintain the genus. They maintain that "Maylandia" is a nomen nudum – literally, a "naked name" that does not validly refer to a group of animals as per the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. In the present article, following FishBase, Catalog of Fishes and the IUCN, the genus name Maylandia is used.

Species

There are currently 30 recognized species in this genus:

Footnotes