Lake Malawi sardine explained

The Lake Malawi sardine, lake sardine, or usipa (Engraulicypris sardella), is an African species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is endemic to Lake Malawi and its outlet, the (upper) Shire River; it is found in Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania.^[1]

The Lake Malawi sardine is an important fishery species in Lake Malawi, both as a food fish and as bait.^[2] It is a pelagic, shoaling species that feeds on zooplankton. It grows to a maximum size of 13cm (05inches) TL, though commonly they are smaller.

Notes and References

1. Riddin . Megan A. . Bills . I. Roger . Villet . Martin H. . amp . Phylogeographic, morphometric and taxonomic re-evaluation of the river sardine, Mesobola brevianalis (Boulenger, 1908) (Teleostei, Cyprinidae, Chedrini) . ZooKeys . 2016 . 641 . 121–150 . 10.3897/zookeys.641.10434. 28138294 . 5240351 . free . 2016ZooK..641..121R .
2. FAO. Thompson. A. B.. A. Bulirani . Growth of usipa (Engraulicypris sardella) in Lake Malawi/Niassa. Papers presented at the Symposium on Biology, Stock Assessment and Exploitation of Small Pelagic Fish Species in the African Great Lakes Region. Bujumbura, Burundi, from 25 to 28 November 1992. 2013-05-21. 1993.