 The sister species to the Malawi haplochromines is "Astatotilapia" sp.Ruaha (a currently undescribed species from Great Ruaha River), and these two separated between 2.13 and 6.76 million years ago (mya).The earliest divergence within the Malawi haplochromines occurred between 1.20 and 4.06 mya, but most radiations in this group are far younger; in extreme cases species may have diverged only a few hundred years ago.