Biological implications of a suggested Late Pleistocene desiccation of Lake Victoria

If, as recently suggested, Lake Victoria dried up completely in the Late Pleistocene and refilled c 12,400 BP, not only must the rate of speciation of its flock of cichlid fishes have been extremely rapid but, more significantly, so too must the rate of morphological differentiation. Such desiccation also implies that fishes belonging to seven other families achieved endemic status since the lake refilled, and in one case became generically distinct, acquired striking morphological/physiological adaptations to life in deep water, and split into two species. Such rapid evolution within these families appears to have no parallel in Africa. This suggests that prudence be applied in the interpretation of what appears to be unambiguous evidence, especially as this seems to be at variance with what also appears to be convincing geophysical evidence of a different kind.