Late pleistocene desiccation of Lake Victoria and rapid evolution of cichlid fishes

Thomas C. Johnson; Christopher A. Scholz; Michael R. Talbot; Kerry Kelts; Richard D Ricketts; Gideon Ngobi; Kristina Beuning; Immacculate Ssemmanda; J. W. McGill

doi:10.1126/science.273.5278.1091

Late pleistocene desiccation of Lake Victoria and rapid evolution of cichlid fishes

Thomas C. Johnson, Christopher A. Scholz, Michael R. Talbot, Kerry Kelts, Richard D Ricketts, Gideon Ngobi, Kristina Beuning, Immacculate Ssemmanda, J. W. McGill

Large Lakes Observatory

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429 Scopus citations

Abstract

Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and harbors more than 300 endemic species of haplochromine cichlid fish. Seismic reflection profiles and piston cores show that the lake not only was at a low stand but dried up completely during the Late Pleistocene, before 12,400 carbon-14 years before the present. These results imply that the rate of speciation of cichlid fish in this tropical lake has been extremely rapid.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1091-1093
Number of pages	3
Journal	Science
Volume	273
Issue number	5278
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.273.5278.1091
State	Published - Aug 23 1996

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abstract = "Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and harbors more than 300 endemic species of haplochromine cichlid fish. Seismic reflection profiles and piston cores show that the lake not only was at a low stand but dried up completely during the Late Pleistocene, before 12,400 carbon-14 years before the present. These results imply that the rate of speciation of cichlid fish in this tropical lake has been extremely rapid.",

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AU - Johnson, Thomas C.

AU - Scholz, Christopher A.

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AU - Kelts, Kerry

AU - Ricketts, Richard D

AU - Ngobi, Gideon

AU - Beuning, Kristina

AU - Ssemmanda, Immacculate

AU - McGill, J. W.

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AB - Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa and harbors more than 300 endemic species of haplochromine cichlid fish. Seismic reflection profiles and piston cores show that the lake not only was at a low stand but dried up completely during the Late Pleistocene, before 12,400 carbon-14 years before the present. These results imply that the rate of speciation of cichlid fish in this tropical lake has been extremely rapid.

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Late pleistocene desiccation of Lake Victoria and rapid evolution of cichlid fishes

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