Cynotilapia is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of fishes from the family Cichlidae. The genus was described by the British ichthyologist Charles Tate Regan in 1922. All fishes in these genus form part of the mbuna

Mbuna

Mbuna is the common name for a large group of African cichlids from Lake Malawi. The name mbuna means "rockfish" in the language of the Tonga people of Malawi...

 flock, the rock-dwelling fishes of Lake Malawi

Lake Malawi

Lake Malawi , is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the Great Rift Valley system of East Africa. This lake, the third largest in Africa and the eighth largest lake in the world, is located between Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania...

, in the rift valley of East Africa

East Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...

. All species are polygamous, maternal, ovophile mouthbrooders and carry their fry in this fashion for about 20–30 days.

Species

There are three currently valid species.

• Cynotilapia afra
  Cynotilapia afra
  Cynotilapia afra, is a freshwater fish of the cichlid family. The genus name roughly translates as dogtooth cichlid which describes the sharp, conical unicuspid teeth unique to this genus within the Lake Malawi flock. The species afra is endemic to Lake Malawi and is found in rocky habitats...
  
  (Günther, 1894).
• Cynotilapia axelrodi
  Cynotilapia axelrodi
  Cynotilapia axelrodi is a species of fish in the Cichlidae family. It is endemic to Malawi. Its natural habitat is freshwater lakes.-References:* Kazembe, J. & Makocho, P. 2005. . Downloaded on 4 August 2007....
  
  (Fernández-Yépez, 1972).
• Cynotilapia pulpican Tawil, 2002.