Editing Lake Victoria (section)

==Native wildlife==
===Mammals===
Many mammal species live in the region of Lake Victoria, and some of these are closely associated with the lake itself and the nearby wetlands. Among these are the [[hippopotamus]], [[African clawless otter]], [[spotted-necked otter]], [[marsh mongoose]], [[sitatunga]], [[bohor reedbuck]], [[defassa waterbuck]], [[cane rat]]s, and [[giant otter shrew]].<ref>{{cite book | author = Kingdon, J. | author-link = Jonathan Kingdon | year = 1997 | title = The Kingdon Guide to African Mammals | location = London, England | publisher = Academic Press | isbn = 0124083552}}{{full|date = December 2024}}</ref>{{page needed|date = December 2024}}

===Reptiles===
Lake Victoria and its wetlands has a large population of [[Nile crocodile]]s, as well as [[African helmeted turtle]]s, [[variable mud turtle]]s, and [[Williams' mud turtle]].<ref name="Spawls2002">{{cite book| author = Spawls, Stephen; Howell, Kim; Drewes, Robert C. & Ashe, James | date = 2002 | title = Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa: All the Reptiles of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi | edition = 1st | location = Princeton, NJ | publisher = Princeton University Press | isbn = 9780126564709 }}{{full|date = December 2024}}</ref>{{page needed|date = December 2024}} The Williams' mud turtle is restricted to Lake Victoria and other lakes, rivers, and swamps in the upper Nile basin.<ref name="Spawls2002"/>{{page needed|date = December 2024}}

===Cichlid fish===
[[File:Pundamilia (Haplochromis) nyererei male.jpg|thumb|Unlike many other Lake Victoria cichlids, ''[[Haplochromis nyererei]]'' remains common.<ref>{{Cite iucn |last1=Witte |first1=F. |last2=de Zeeuw |first2=M.P. |last3=Brooks |first3=E. | title = ''Haplochromis nyererei'' | volume = 2016 | page = e.T60668A97125826 | date = 2016 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T60668A97125826.en | access-date = 14 January 2018}}</ref> Compared to several other cichlids, its eyes are particularly sensitive to light, especially red, which is less affected by the decrease in water clarity caused by [[eutrophication]] than [[Color#Physics of color|short wavelength colors]]<ref name="Witte2000">{{cite journal | last1 = Witte | last2 = Msuku | last3 = Wanink | last4 = Seehausen | last5 = Katunzi | last6 = Goudswaard | last7 = Goldschmidt | year = 2000 | title = Recovery of cichlid species in Lake Victoria: an examination of factors leading to differential extinction | journal = Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries | volume = 10 | issue = 2| pages = 233–41 | doi = 10.1023/a:1016677515930 | bibcode = 2000RFBF...10..233W | s2cid = 39566440 | url = https://boris.unibe.ch/71524/ }}</ref>]]

Lake Victoria formerly was very rich in fish, including many endemics, but a high percentage of these became extinct since the 1940s.<ref name="Witte1992">{{cite journal | last1 = Witte | last2 = Goldschmidt | last3 = Goudswaard | last4 = Ligtvoet | last5 = van Oijen | last6 = Wanink | year = 1992 | title = Species extinction and concomitant ecological changes in Lake Victoria | journal = Netherlands Journal of Zoology | volume = 42 | issue = 2–3| pages = 214–32 | doi = 10.1163/156854291X00298 }}</ref> The main group in Lake Victoria is the [[haplochromine]] cichlids (''[[Haplochromis]]'' ''[[sensu lato]]'') with more than 500 species, almost all endemic,<ref name="Verheyen2003"/><ref name="Meier2017">{{cite journal | last1 = Meier | last2 = Marques | last3 = Mwaiko | last4 = Wagner | last5 = Excoffier | last6 = Seehausen | year = 2017 | title = Ancient hybridization fuels rapid cichlid fish adaptive radiations | journal = Nature Communications | volume = 8 | page = 14363 | doi = 10.1038/ncomms14363 | pmid = 28186104 | pmc = 5309898 | bibcode = 2017NatCo...814363M }}</ref><ref name="DeWeerdt2004">DeWeerdt, S. (28 February 2004). [https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18124365-300-dark-secret-of-the-lake/ Dark secret of the lake.] New Scientist. Retrieved 26 March 2017.</ref> and including an estimated 300 that still are [[Undescribed taxon|undescribed]].<ref name="Sayer2018">Sayer, C.A., L. Máiz-Tomé, and W.R.T. Darwall (2018). Freshwater biodiversity in the Lake Victoria Basin: Guidance for species conservation, site protection, [[climate resilience]] and sustainable livelihoods. Cambridge, UK and Gland, Switzerland: IUCN.  {{doi|10.2305/IUCN.CH.2018.RA.2.en}}</ref> This is far more species of fish than any other lake in the world, except [[Lake Malawi]].<ref name="Turner2001">{{cite journal |last1=Turner |last2=Seehausen |last3=Knight |last4=Allender |last5=Robinson |year=2001 |title=How many species of cichlid fishes are there in African lakes? |journal=Molecular Ecology |volume=10 |issue= 3|pages=793–806 |doi=10.1046/j.1365-294x.2001.01200.x |pmid=11298988 |s2cid=12925712 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2001MolEc..10..793T }}</ref> These are the result of a rapid [[adaptive radiation]] in the last circa 15,000 years.<ref name="Verheyen2003"/><ref name="Meier2017"/><ref>{{cite journal | author1=J.C. Stager | author2=T.C. Johnson | year=2008 | title=The late Pleistocene desiccation of Lake Victoria and the origin of its endemic biota | journal=[[Hydrobiologia]] | volume=596 | issue=1 | pages=5–16 | doi=10.1007/s10750-007-9158-2| bibcode=2008HyBio.596....5S | s2cid=42372016 }}</ref> Their extraordinary diversity and speed of [[evolution]] have been the subjects for many scientists studying the forces that drive the richness of life everywhere.<ref name="Meier2017"/><ref name="Lowe2009">{{cite journal | last1 = Lowe-McConnell | first1 = R | year = 2009 | title = Fisheries and cichlid evolution in the African Great Lakes: progress and problems | journal = Freshwater Reviews | volume = 2 | issue = 2| pages = 131–51 | doi = 10.1608/frj-2.2.2 | s2cid = 54011001 }}</ref> The Victoria haplochromines are part of an older group of more than 700 closely related species, also including those of several smaller lakes in the region, notably [[Lake Kyoga|Kyoga]], [[Lake Edward|Edward]]–[[Lake George (Uganda)|George]], Albert, and [[Lake Kivu|Kivu]].<ref name="Verheyen2003"/><ref name="Meier2017"/>

Most of these lakes are relatively shallow (like Victoria) and part of the present-day upper Nile basin. The exception is Lake Kivu, which is part of the present-day [[Congo River basin]], but is believed to have been connected to Lakes Edward and Victoria by rivers until the uplifting of parts of the [[East African Rift]].<ref name="Verheyen2003"/> This deep lake may have functioned as an "evolutionary reservoir" for this haplochromine group in periods where other shallower lakes in the region dried out, as happened to Lake Victoria about 15,000 years ago.<ref name="Verheyen2003"/> In recent history only Lake Kyoga was easily accessible to Victoria cichlids, as further downstream movement by the [[Victoria Nile]] (to Lake Albert) is prevented by a series of waterfalls, notably [[Murchison Falls|Murchison]]. In contrast, the [[Owen Falls]] (now flooded by a [[Nalubaale Hydroelectric Power Station|dam]]) between Victoria and Kyoga were essentially a series of rapids that did not effectively block fish movements between the two lakes.<ref>McClanahan, T. and T.P. Young (1996). ''East African Ecosystems and Their Conservation''. pp. 201–06. {{ISBN|978-0-19-510817-0}}</ref>

[[File:Haplochromis thereuterion.jpg|thumb|''[[Haplochromis thereuterion]]'' survives in low numbers.<ref>{{Cite iucn |last1=Witte |first1=F. |last2=de Zeeuw |first2=M.P. |last3=Brooks |first3=E.  | title = Haplochromis thereuterion | volume = 2010 | page = e.T185857A8492470 | date = 2010 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T185857A8492470.en | access-date = 14 January 2018}}</ref> Initially feared extinct, when rediscovered it had changed habitat (from near surface to rocky outcrops) and feeding behavior (from surface insects to insect larvae)<ref>Steeves, G: [http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/hap_thereuterion_pt1.php "'Haplochromis' thereuterion".] Cichlid-Forum. Retrieved 28 March 2017.</ref>]]

The Victoria haplochromines are distinctly [[sexually dimorphic]] (males relatively brightly colored; females dull),<ref>{{Cite journal | author = Rijssel | author2 = Moser | author3 = Frei | author4 = Seehausen | title = Prevalence of disruptive selection predicts extent of species differentiation in Lake Victoria cichlids | journal = Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences | volume = 285 | issue = 1871 | page = 1871 | date = 2018 | doi = 10.1098/rspb.2017.2630| pmid = 29367400 | pmc = 5805951 }}</ref> and their ecology is extremely diverse, falling into at least 16 groups, including [[detritivore]]s, [[Planktivore|zooplanktivores]], [[insectivore]]s, prawn-eaters, [[molluscivore]]s and [[piscivore]]s.<ref name="Lowe2009"/> As a result of predation by the introduced [[Nile perch]], [[eutrophication]] and other changes to the ecosystem, it is estimated that at least 200 species (about 40 percent) of Lake Victoria haplochromines have become extinct,<ref name="DeWeerdt2004"/><ref name="Lowe2009"/><ref name="Rijssel2013">{{cite journal |last1=van Rijssel |last2=Witte |year=2013 |title=Adaptive responses in resurgent Lake Victoria cichlids over the past 30 years |journal=Evol. Ecol. |volume=27 |issue= 2|pages=253–67 |doi=10.1007/s10682-012-9596-9 |bibcode=2013EvEco..27..253V |s2cid=2291741 }}</ref> including more than 100 undescribed species.<ref name="Sayer2018"/> Initially it was feared that this number was even higher, by some estimates 65 percent of the total species,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Goldschmidt |last2=Witte |last3=Wanink |year=1993 |title=Cascading Effects of the Introduced Nile Perch on the Detritivorous/Phytoplanktivorous Species in the Sublittoral Areas of Lake Victoria |journal=Conservation Biology |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=686–700 |doi=10.1046/j.1523-1739.1993.07030686.x |bibcode=1993ConBi...7..686G }}</ref> but several species that were feared extinct have been rediscovered after the Nile perch started to decline in the 1990s.<ref name="Lowe2009"/><ref name="IUCNef">IUCN Red Lists: [http://www.iucnredlist.org/initiatives/freshwater/eastafrica/geographicpatternsea Geographic Patterns]. Eastern Africa. Retrieved 25 March 2017.</ref> Several of the remaining species are seriously threatened and additional extinctions are possible.<ref name="Fiedler1998">Fiedler, P.L. and P M. Kareiva, editors (1998). Conservation Biology: For the Coming Decade. 2nd edition. pp. 209–10. {{ISBN|978-0-412-09661-7}}</ref> Some species have survived in nearby small satellite lakes,<ref name="IUCNef"/> have survived in refugias among rocks or [[papyrus sedge]]s (protecting them from the Nile perch),<ref name="Chapman1996">{{cite journal | last1 = Chapman | last2 = Chapman | last3 = Chandler | year = 1996 | title = Wetland ecotones as refugia for endangered fishes | journal = Biological Conservation | volume = 78 | issue = 3| pages = 263–70 | doi = 10.1016/s0006-3207(96)00030-4 | bibcode = 1996BCons..78..263C }}</ref> or have adapted to the human-induced changes in the lake itself.<ref name="Lowe2009"/><ref name="Rijssel2013"/> Such adaptions include a larger [[gill]] area (adaption for oxygen-poor water), changes in the feeding apparatus, changes to the eyes (giving them better sight in turbid water)<ref name="Witte2000"/><ref name="Lowe2009"/> and smaller head/larger [[caudal peduncle]] (allowing faster swimming).<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Zeeuw | last2 = Westbroek | last3 = van Oijen | last4 = Witte | year = 2013 | title = Two new species of zooplanktivorous haplochromine cichlids from Lake Victoria, Tanzania | journal = ZooKeys | issue = 256 | pages = 1–34 | doi = 10.3897/zookeys.256.3871 | pmid = 23717179| pmc = 3650828| doi-access = free | bibcode = 2013ZooK..256....1D }}</ref> The piscivorous (affected by both predation and competition from Nile perch<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = McGee | last2 = Borstein | last3 = Neches | last4 = Buescher | last5 = Seehausen | last6 = Wainwright | year = 2015 | title = A pharyngeal jaw evolutionary innovation facilitated extinction in Lake Victoria cichlids | journal = Science | volume = 350 | issue = 6264| pages = 1077–79 | doi = 10.1126/science.aab0800 | pmid = 26612951 | bibcode = 2015Sci...350.1077M | doi-access = free }}</ref>), molluscivorous and insectivorous haplochromines were particularly hard hit with many extinctions.<ref name="Lowe2009"/> Others have become extinct in their pure form, but survive as [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrids]] between close relatives (especially among the detritivores).<ref name="DeWeerdt2004"/><ref name="Lowe2009"/> The zooplanktivores have been least affected and in the late 1990s had reached densities similar to, or above, the densities before the drastic declines, although consisting of fewer species and often switching their diet towards [[macroinvertebrate]]s.<ref name="Witte2000"/><ref name="Lowe2009"/> Some of the threatened Lake Victoria cichlid species have captive "insurance" populations in zoos, [[public aquaria]] and among private aquarists, and a few species are [[extinct in the wild]] (only survive in captivity).<ref>Yirka, B. (27 November 2015). [https://phys.org/news/2015-11-evolution-diversification.html Study shows evolution does not always mean more diversification.] Phys.org, press release. Retrieved 28 March 2017.</ref><ref>Lévêque, C. (1997). ''Biodiversity Dynamics and Conservation: The Freshwater Fish of Tropical Africa''. p. 358. {{ISBN|978-0-521-57033-6}}</ref><ref>Steeves, G: [http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/new_hobby_haps_pt1.php "New to the hobby Haplochromines".] ''Cichlid-Forum''. Retrieved 28 March 2017.</ref><ref>Rizza, D: [http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_6/volume_6_3/vic_chichlids.html "Looking At Victoria Cichlids".] ''Conscientious Aquarist Magazine''. Retrieved 28 March 2017.</ref><ref>McAndrews, R. and D.I. Warmolts (25 May 2015). [http://www.bostonaquariumsociety.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=89:progress-in-breeding-freshwater-fish-by-douglas-i-warmolts-columbus-zoological-gardens-and-russ&catid=42:general&Itemid=74 "Progress in breeding freshwater fish".] Boston Aquarium Society. Retrieved 14 April 2017.</ref>

Before the mass extinction that has occurred among the lake's cichlids in the last 50 years, about 90 percent of the native fish species in the lake were haplochromines.<ref name="Witte1992"/> Disregarding the haplochromines, the only native Victoria cichlids are two [[critically endangered]] tilapia, the [[Singida tilapia]] or ''[[ngege]]'' (''Oreochromis esculentus'') and [[Victoria tilapia]] (''O. variabilis'').<ref>{{Cite iucn | author = Twongo, T.K. | author2 = Bayona, J.D.R. | author3 = Hanssens, M. | name-list-style = amp | title = ''Oreochromis esculentus'' | volume = 2006 | page = e.T15457A4587658 | date = 2006 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2006.RLTS.T15457A4587658.en | access-date = 14 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite iucn | author = Twongo, T.K. | author2 = Bayona, J.D.R. | author3 = Hanssens, M. | name-list-style = amp | title = ''Oreochromis variabilis'' | volume = 2006 | page = e.T15458A4587788 | date = 2006 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2006.RLTS.T15458A4587788.en | access-date = 14 January 2018}}</ref>

In 1927–1928 [[Michael Graham (scientist)|Michael Graham]] conducted the first ever systematic [[Fisheries Survey of Lake Victoria]]. In his official report of the expedition, Graham wrote that "The ngege or satu ''Tilapia esculenta'', is the most important food fish of the lake, whether for native or non-native consumption. No other fish equals it in the quality of the flesh. It is convenient size for trade, travels well and is found in much greater numbers than other important fish, such as semutundu (Luganda), ''Bagrus sp.''".<ref name=":25">Graham M. (1929.) The Victoria Nyanza and Its Fisheries: A Report on the Fish Survey of Lake Victoria 1927–1928 and Appendices. London: Crown Agents for the Colonies. 256pp.</ref> Furthermore, Graham noted that the introduction of the European flax [[gill net]] of 5 inch mesh had undoubtedly caused a diminution in the number of ngege in those parts of the Kavirondo Gulf, the northern shore of the lake, the Sesse Islands and Smith's Sound which are conveniently situated close to markets.<ref name=":25"/> Survey catches in 1927–28 included several [[Haplochromis]] species that are now thought to be extinct, including: ''[[Haplochromis flavipinnis]]'', ''[[Haplochromis gowersii]]'', ''[[Haplochromis longirostris]]'', ''[[Haplochromis macrognathus]]'', ''[[Haplochromis michaeli]]'', ''[[Haplochromis nigrescens]]'', ''[[Haplochromis prognathus]]''.
[[File:The use of boats for transport on lake Victoria uganda.jpg|alt=View at Lake Victoria (Uganda).|thumb|View at Lake Victoria  in Uganda]]
[[File:Nile monitor lizard, Lake Victoria (1) (28017355603).jpg|thumb|Nile monitor lizard, Lake Victoria.]]
As well as being due to the introduction of [[Nile perch]], the extinction of cichlids in the genus ''[[Haplochromis]]'' has also been blamed on the lake's eutrophication. The fertility of tropical waters depends on the rate at which nutrients can be brought into solution. The influent rivers of Lake Victoria provide few nutrients to the lake in relation to its size. Because of this, most of Lake Victoria's nutrients are thought to be locked up in lake-bottom deposits.<ref name="Hickling61" />{{page needed|date = December 2024}}<ref name="Beauchamp54">{{cite journal|author=Beauchamp, R.S.A. |year=1954|title=Fishery research in the lakes of East Africa|journal=East African Agricultural Journal|volume=19|issue=4|pages=203–07|doi=10.1080/03670074.1954.11664909}}</ref> By itself, this vegetative matter decays slowly. Animal flesh decays considerably faster, however, so the fertility of the lake is dependent on the rate at which these nutrients can be taken up by fish and other organisms.<ref name="Beauchamp54" /> There is little doubt that ''Haplochromis'' played an important role in returning detritus and plankton back into solution.<ref name="Lucy Richardson">{{citation|author=Richardson, Lucy |title=The lessons of Lake Victoria Uganda|url=http://www.gulgasht.com/africa/lucy-richardson-story-from-lake-victoria-uganda.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140926071844/http://www.gulgasht.com/africa/lucy-richardson-story-from-lake-victoria-uganda.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-09-26}}</ref><ref name="KaufmanOchumba93">{{cite journal|author1=Les Kaufman|author2=Peter Ochumba|year=1993|title=Evolutionary and conservation biology of cichlid fishes as revealed by faunal remnants in northern Lake Victoria|journal=[[Conservation Biology (journal)|Conservation Biology]]|volume=7|issue=3|pages=719–30|doi=10.1046/j.1523-1739.1993.07030719.x|jstor=2386703|bibcode=1993ConBi...7..719K }}</ref><ref name="Goldschmidt93">{{cite journal|author1=Tijs Goldschmidt|author2=Frans Witte|author3=Jan Wanink|year=1993|title=Cascading effects of the introduced Nile perch on the detrivorous/phytoplantivorous species in sublittoral areas of Lake Victoria|journal=[[Conservation Biology (journal)|Conservation Biology]]|volume=7|issue=3|pages=686–700|doi=10.1046/j.1523-1739.1993.07030686.x|jstor=2386700|bibcode=1993ConBi...7..686G }}</ref> With some 80 percent of ''Haplochromis'' species feeding off detritus, and equally capable of feeding off one another, they represented a tight, internal recycling system, moving nutrients and biomass both vertically and horizontally through the water column, and even out of the lake via predation by humans and terrestrial animals. The removal of ''Haplochromis'', however, may have contributed to the increasing frequency of [[algal bloom]]s,<ref name="OchumbaKibaara" /><ref name="KaufmanOchumba93" /><ref name="Goldschmidt93" /> which may in turn be responsible for mass [[fish kill]]s.<ref name="OchumbaKibaara" />

===Other fish===
The non-cichlid native fish include African tetras (''[[Brycinus]]''), cyprinids (''[[Enteromius]]'', ''[[Garra]]'', ''[[Labeo]]'', ''[[Labeobarbus]]'', ''[[Rastrineobola]]'' and ''[[Xenobarbus]]''), airbreathing catfish (''[[Clariallabes]]'', ''[[Clarias]]'' and ''[[Xenoclarias]]''), bagrid catfish (''[[Bagrus]]''), loach catfish (''[[Amphilius]]'' and ''[[Zaireichthys]]''), [[Schilbe intermedius|silver butter catfish]] (''Schilbe intermedius''), ''[[Synodontis]]'' squeaker catfish, ''[[Nothobranchius]]'' killifish, poeciliids (''[[Aplocheilichthys]]'' and ''[[Micropanchax]]''), the spiny eel ''[[Mastacembelus]] frenatus'', elephantfish (''[[Gnathonemus]]'', ''[[Hippopotamyrus]]'', ''[[Marcusenius]]'', ''[[Mormyrus]]'', ''[[Petrocephalus]]'', and ''[[Pollimyrus]]''), the climbing gourami ''[[Ctenopoma]] muriei'' and [[marbled lungfish]] (''Protopterus aethiopicus'').<ref name="FishBaseList">FishBase: [http://www.fishbase.org/TrophicEco/FishEcoList.php?ve_code=3 Fish Species in Victoria.] Retrieved 25 March 2017.</ref>
[[File:Victoria Nyanza, voyages de MM. J. Jackson & Gedge et Père Schynse - DPLA - 56a4977fa3409e9beb528ee7ca96e923.jpg|alt=Lake Victoria|left|thumb|Map of Lake Victoria]]
At a genus level, most of these are widespread in Africa, but the very rare ''Xenobarbus'' and ''Xenoclarias'' are endemic to the lake, and the common ''Rastrineobola'' is near-endemic.<ref name="FishBaseList"/>

===Crustaceans===
Four species of [[freshwater crab]]s are known from Lake Victoria: ''[[Potamonautes niloticus]]'' is widespread in the lake and ''[[Potamonautes emini|P. emini]]'' has been recorded from the vicinity of [[Bukoba]] in Tanzania, but both are also found elsewhere in Africa.<ref>Cumberlidge, N. (2009). "Freshwater Crabs and Shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda) of the Nile Basin". Chapter 27, pp. 547–61 in : Dumony, H.J. (editor). ''The Nile. Origin, Environments, Limnology and Human Use. Monographiae Biologicae'', Vol. 89. Springer, New York. {{ISBN|978-1-4020-9726-3}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite iucn | author = Cumberlidge, N. | title = ''Potamonautes emini'' | volume = 2016 | page = e.T44523A84352263 | date = 2016 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T44523A84352263.en | access-date = 14 January 2018}}</ref> The last were first scientifically described in 2017 and very little is known about them: ''[[Potamonautes entebbe|P. entebbe]]'' is only known from near [[Entebbe]] (the only known specimen was collected in 1955 and it is unknown if it was in or near the lake) and ''[[Potamonautes busungwe|P. busungwe]]'' only at Busungwe Island in the northwestern part of the lake. The latter likely is the smallest African freshwater crab with a carapace width up to about {{cvt|1.6|cm|in|1}}, although ''[[Potamonautes kantsyore|P. kantsyore]]'' of [[Kagera River]], and ''[[Platythelphusa]] maculata'' and ''P. polita'' of Lake Tanganyika are almost as small.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Cumberlidge | first1 = N. | last2 = Clark | first2 = P.F. | year = 2017 | title = Description of three new species of Potamonautes MacLeay, 1838 from the Lake Victoria region in southern Uganda, East Africa (Brachyura: Potamoidea: Potamonautidae) | journal = European Journal of Taxonomy | issue = 371| pages = 1–19 | doi = 10.5852/ejt.2017.371 | doi-access = free | hdl = 10141/622400 | hdl-access = free }}</ref>
[[File:Lake Victoria IMG 20200202 145633.jpg|alt=Lake Victoria.|thumb|Lake Victoria from a wider angle.]]
The only shrimp/prawn is ''[[Caridina nilotica]]'',<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Goudswaard | first1 = K. | last2 = Witte | first2 = F. | last3 = Wanink | first3 = J.H. | year = 2006 | title = The shrimp Caridina nilotica in Lake Victoria (East Africa), before and after the Nile perch increase | journal = Hydrobiologia | volume = 563 | issue = 1| pages = 31–44 | doi = 10.1007/s10750-005-1385-9 | bibcode = 2006HyBio.563...31G | s2cid = 40935454 }}</ref> which is common and widespread in Lake Victoria.<ref name="Lowe2009"/>

===Molluscs===
Lake Victoria is home to 28 species of [[freshwater snail]]s (e.g., ''[[Bellamya (gastropod)|Bellamya]]'', ''[[Biomphalaria]]'', ''[[Bulinus]]'', ''[[Cleopatra (gastropod)|Cleopatra]]'', ''[[Gabbiella]]'', and ''[[Melanoides]]''), including 12 endemic species/subspecies.<ref name="Darwall2011">{{Cite book | editor1=Darwall, W. | editor2=Smith, K. | editor3=Allen, D. | editor4=Holland, R. | editor5=Harrison, I. | editor6=Brooks, E. | year=2011 | title=The Diversity of Life in African Freshwaters: Under Water, Under Threat. An Analysis of the Status and Distribution of Freshwater Species Throughout Mainland Africa | author1=Seddon, M. | author2=Appleton, C. | author3=Van Damme, D. | author4=Graf, D. | chapter=Freshwater Molluscs of Africa: Diversity, Distribution, and Conservation | pages=92–119 | isbn=9782831713458 }}</ref><ref>Brown, D. (1994). ''Freshwater Snails of Africa and Their Medical Importance.'' 2nd edition. {{ISBN|0-7484-0026-5}}{{full|date = December 2024}}</ref>{{page needed|date = December 2024}} There are 17 species of [[bivalve]]s (''[[Corbicula]]'', ''[[Coelatura]]'', ''[[Sphaerium]]'', and ''[[Byssanodonta]]''), including 6 endemic species and subspecies.<ref name="Darwall2011"/><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Mwambungu | first1 = J.A. | year = 2004 | title = The diversity of benthic molluscs of Lake Victoria and Lake Burigi | journal = Tanzania Journal of Science| volume = 30 | issue = 1| pages = 21–32 | doi = 10.4314/tjs.v30i1.18384 | doi-access = free }}</ref> It is likely that undescribed species of snails remain. Conversely, genetic studies indicate that some [[Morphology (biology)|morphologically]] distinctive populations, traditionally regarded as separate species, may only be variants of single species.<ref name="Sayer2018"/> Two of the snail genera, ''Biomphalaria'' and  ''Bulinus'',  are [[intermediate host]]s of the parasite that causes [[bilharzia]] (schistosomiasis). Human infections by this parasite are common at Lake Victoria.<ref>{{cite news |author=Senthilingam, M. |date=9 February 2016 |title=The Snails Spreading Fever Across Africa | url=https://edition.cnn.com/2016/02/09/health/snails-spread-schistosomiasis-in-africa/index.html | publisher=CNN | access-date=16 May 2018}}</ref> This may increase as a result of the spread of the invasive water hyacinth (an optimum snail habitat),<ref>{{cite web |author=Chege, N. |date=1995 |title=Lake Victoria: A Sick Giant |url=http://faculty.fgcu.edu/twimberley/EnviroPhilo/LakeVictoriaCrisis.pdf |publisher=People & the Planet |access-date=16 May 2018 |archive-date=17 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517153755/http://faculty.fgcu.edu/twimberley/EnviroPhilo/LakeVictoriaCrisis.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the loss of many snail-eating cichlids in the lake.<ref>{{cite web |author=Pomerantz, J. |date=19 September 2015 |title=Haplochromine Cichlids of Lake Victoria | url=https://www.ecologycenter.us/natural-history-2/haplochromine-cichlids-of-lake-victoria.html | publisher=ecologycenter.us | access-date=16 May 2018}}</ref>

===Spiders===
''[[Evarcha culicivora]]'' is a species of jumping spider (family [[Salticidae]]) found only around Lake Victoria in Kenya and Uganda. It feeds primarily on female mosquitos.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Nelson|first1=Ximena J.|last2=Jackson|first2=Robert R.|last3=Sune|first3=Godfrey|date=2005|title=Use of Anopheles-Specific Prey-Capture Behavior by the Small Juveniles of Evarcha culicivora, a Mosquito-Eating Jumping Spider|journal=The Journal of Arachnology|volume=33|issue=2|pages=541–548|doi=10.1636/05-3.1|issn=0161-8202|jstor=4129852|s2cid=55244513|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/228863}}</ref>