Butterflies And Peacocks From Lake Malawi

On more than one occasion (Loiselle, 1979, 1981), I have referred to the opening of Lake Malawi to the exportation of ornamental fishes as the "Malawi Revolution". My aim has been to dramatize the impact commercial exploitation of the Malawian fauna has had upon the evolution of cichlid keeping and of those organizations that have arisen to serve the needs of the cichlid-oriented hobbyist, such as the American Cichlid Association. As often happens when one coins a phrase to emphasize a point, accuracy becomes the victim of eloquence. The "Malawi Revolution" was actually a series of revolutions spread over nearly a decade, each stimulated by the sudden appearance of a new suite of desirable cichlids representing either a different area of the lake or else a previously unexploded component of its incredibly diverse assemblage of endemic species.