Editing Lake Malawi (section)

====Molluscs====
Lake Malawi is home to 28 species of [[freshwater snail]]s (including 16 endemics) and 9 [[bivalve]]s (2 endemics, ''[[Aspatharia subreniformis]]'' and the [[Unionidae|unionid]] ''[[Nyassunio nyassaensis]]'').<ref>Segers, H.; and Martens, K; editors (2005). ''The Diversity of Aquatic Ecosystems.'' p. 46. Developments in Hydrobiology. Aquatic Biodiversity. {{ISBN|1-4020-3745-7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite iucn  |author=Van Damme, D. |year=2018 |title= ''Aspatharia subreniformis'' |page= e.T44266A120109809 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T44266A120109809.en}}</ref> The endemic freshwater snails are all members of the genera ''[[Bellamya (gastropod)|Bellamya]]'', ''[[Bulinus]]'', ''[[Gabbiella]]'', ''[[Lanistes]]'' and ''[[Melanoides]]''.<ref>Brown, D. (1994). ''Freshwater Snails Of Africa And Their Medical Importance.'' p. 571. 2nd edition. {{ISBN|0-7484-0026-5}}</ref>

Lake Malawi is home to a total of four snail species in the genus ''Bulinus'', which is a known [[intermediate host]] of [[bilharzia]]. A survey in Monkey Bay in 1964 found two endemic species of snails of the genus (''[[Bulinus nyassanus|B. nyassanus]]'' and ''[[Bulinus succinoides|B. succinoides]]'') in the lake, and two non-endemic species (''[[Bulinus globosus|B. globosus]]'' and ''[[Bulinus forskalii|B. forskalli]]'') in lagoons separated from it. The latter species are known intermediate hosts of bilharzia, and larvae of the parasite were detected in water containing these, but in experiments C. Wright of the [[British Museum of Natural History]] was unable to infect the two species endemic to the lake with the parasites. The field workers, who spent many hours on and in the lake, did not find either ''B. globosus'' or ''B. forskalli'' in the lake itself.<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Wright | first = C. A. | author2 = Klein, J. | author3 = Eccles, D. H. | title = Endemic species of ''Bulinus'' (Mollusca: Planorbidae) in Lake Malawi (= Lake Nyasa) | journal = Journal of Zoology | volume = 151 | issue = 1 | pages = 199–209 | year = 1967 | url = http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122569088/abstract | archive-url = https://archive.today/20121020201249/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122569088/abstract | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2012-10-20 | doi = 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1967.tb02873.x | access-date = 2010-05-22 }}</ref> More recently, the disease has become a problem in the lake itself as the endemic ''B. nyassanus'' has become an intermediate host. This change, first noticed in the mid-1980s, is possibly related to a decline in snail-eating cichlids (for example, ''[[Trematocranus placodon]]'') due to overfishing and/or a new [[Strain (biology)|strain]] of the bilharzia parasite.<ref name=Staffer2012/>