Species that are considered uncertain risk need a more in-depth assessment beyond the Risk Summary to better define the species’ risk to U.S. environments.
Maylandia zebra, the Zebra Mbuna, is a cichlid species endemic to Lake Malawi in eastern Africa. It is used in the aquarium trade, including in the United States. M. zebra can be afflicted by numerous bacterial diseases and parasitic infestations. This species has a low climate match with the contiguous United States, although there are a few small areas of medium climate match in the southeast and southwest. M. zebra was reported from Rogers Spring, Nevada in 1981 and 1983; however, no M. zebra have been observed in Nevada since 2001 and no information is available on the current status of this population. No impacts of introductions of this species have been documented in the scientific literature. The introduction is believed to be from an aquarium release. There is some uncertainty about the taxonomy of this M. zebra, including what genus it belongs in and whether it is one species or a complex of species. Because of a lack of information from which to base an assessment of risk, the certainty of this assessment is low. The overall risk assessment category is uncertain.
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Uncertain Risk
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