I am not convinced that Tilapia sparrmanii, shown above and below, ever occurs in Lake Malawi proper. Nevertheless, it was listed from Lake Malawi by Bell-Cross (1976) and again by Bell-Cross & Minshull (1988). These authorities provided no supporting details or literature citation. Furthermore, T. sparrmanii is listed without comment from Lake Malawi by FishBase (see the species account of it there). However, the occurrence of this cichlid in Lake Malawi seems doubtful and needs to be substantiated by a museum specimen.

Both the color painting above and the black and white illustration below, rendered by Hilda M. Jubb, are from Jubb (1967) and are reproduced here with the kind permission of Mr. A. T. Balkema of A. A. Balkema Publishers, Rotterdam.