Lake Malawi - Maleri Islands

The new yellow regal peacock, Aulonocara baenschi, is a cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi, known from five sites along the lake's western shoreline. It inhabits intermediate zones where rocky shores give way to sand with scattered rocks, usually at 4 to 6 metres. Also sold as the 'yellow regal cichlid', 'Baensch's peacock', 'sunshine peacock' and 'Nkhomo-Benga peacock', it is most easily told from similar congeners by its steeper, more curved snout.

The sunshine peacock, Aulonocara sp. 'stuartgranti maleri', is a cichlid endemic to the south-west of Lake Malawi around the Maleri Islands. Whether it represents an undescribed species remains unclear, and the vernacular name is confusing because it is based on that of a described taxon: it is often called A. stuartgranti 'Maleri', and the Maleri Islands fish are traded as 'yellow regal peacock'. It resembles A. baenschi but has a straighter head and snout profile and relatively smaller eyes.