Collection point · Lake Malawi · Malawi

Lions Cove

LY-uhnz KOHV (approx.)

The atlas records 20 collection-point forms from Lions Cove, across 13 genera.

11.3967°S 34.2711°E

Lions Cove is a cove on Lake Malawi's Malawian shore, under 1 km north-north-west of Kajizingi.

Where it is

Lions Cove is on the western shore of Lake Malawi, in its central third (133 mi south of the lake's northern tip).

Nearest collection points: Kawanga 2.2 mi south · Kawanga Rocks 2.3 mi south · Sanga 2.8 mi north

Shore, third and distances are measured from the coordinates above against the lake’s mapped outline.

The water

Lake-wide measured chemistry of Lake Malawi — collection points share their lake's water; site-specific figures are shown only where the literature records them.

Temperature75.2–84.2 °F24–29 °C
pH8.2–8.6alkaline
Hardnessmoderately soft, alkaline, well-buffered79 ppm
Conductivity≈250–260 µS/cmmeasured range

Nearest measured station: Salima (south-east shore) (~262 km) — Conductivity 235 µS/cm

Surface temperature here

Across Apr–Nov, monthly means run 76 °F to 82 °F — coolest in Aug. Measured by satellite 1995–2023: the daily median of clear readings within 10 km of the site (872 clear days). The rainy-season months are usually too cloudy to measure and are left blank.

74°77°80°83°Jan: too few clear satellite days (0)–JFeb: too few clear satellite days (1)–FMar: too few clear satellite days (1)–MApr: 82 °F mean (80 °F–83 °F), 10 clear satellite daysAMay: 80 °F mean (78 °F–81 °F), 51 clear satellite daysMJun: 78 °F mean (77 °F–80 °F), 119 clear satellite daysJJul: 76 °F mean (75 °F–78 °F), 136 clear satellite daysJAug: 76 °F mean (75 °F–77 °F), 212 clear satellite daysASep: 77 °F mean (76 °F–78 °F), 192 clear satellite daysSOct: 79 °F mean (78 °F–81 °F), 100 clear satellite daysONov: 81 °F mean (80 °F–83 °F), 49 clear satellite daysNDec: too few clear satellite days (1)–D
Surface temperature by month near Lions Cove — dot = mean, bar = typical range (10th–90th percentile), “–” = too cloudy to measure.

Temperature: ESA Climate Change Initiative, Lakes_cci v3.0 (Asfour et al. 2026; doi:10.5285/a56dba09df8a42ec9fba8b8c7a5e1f69). Chemistry on this page remains the lake's own.

The site

Site photographs show the north and south sides of the cove's entrance, along with a hamerkop (Scopus umbretta) seen there.

Sources
  1. malawi.si — Lion's Cove, Lake Malawi, Malawi: location page and photo gallery (captions by Pam Chin, Pete Barnes, Marc Boulton)

Each entry below is the population of that species recorded here — the form aquarists keep and breed as a distinct, provenance-labelled line. Crossing forms from different collection points is considered hybridisation in the hobby.

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