Almost all imports that came in over the years have indeed been S. fryeri, no one is disputing that, but that doesn't mean that S. ahli don't exist in the lake. The confusion came in the early years as fryeri were tagged by importers and wholesale vendors as being "ahli" which were originally described from a population near Lumbila in the northern part of the lake belonging to Tanzania. (Ahl, 1927)
At that time vendors sold them as Haplochromis Electric Blue, or Electric Blue Hap, or Electric Blue Ahli. One of the earlier African cichlid identification books that hit the market years ago in 1995, Cichlids, the pictorial guide, by Pablo Tepoot, who at that time operated on the largest African cichlid farms in Florida, shows a photo of what is clearly a red anal finned S. fryeri, and under the photo has the following names listed: Haplochromis Ahli, Sciaenochromis ahli, and Electric Blue. This is exactly why I prefer proper Latin names, vs trade names.
Clearly there are different physical traits of S. fryeri among the various collection locations. Ad Konings and others have certainly noted this over the years, and this is common among many of the species in the lake.
Male fryeri of the southern population have a white blaze on the head and nape. (I have owned fryeri from this part of the lake) Males from Likoma lack the white blaze, but have reddish anal fins, and it is at this location (Likoma) where a large portion of S. fryeri have been collected over the years for export. (I have also owned fryeri from this location) The original specimens collected for export years ago came from Maleri Island, and around Cape Maclear. (as per Ad Konings)
Unless someone has something concrete (such as DNA) to refute Ad Konings et al, I'm going to have to agree with their findings.
