Hemitilapia oxyrhynchus Boulenger, 1902
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The giant haplochromis (Hemitilapia oxyrhynchus) is a species of cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi and Lake Malombe, preferring areas with sandy substrates and Vallisneria patches. It is an algae eater, obtaining its food by scraping it from the leaves of aquatic plants. This species grows to a length of 20 centimetres (7.9 in) TL. This fish can also be found in the aquarium trade. This species is the only known member of its genus.
Wikipedia contributors, Giant haplochromis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:46:57.919326+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Hemitilapia oxyrhynchus Boulenger, 1902
- Name authority
- Boulenger, 1902
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cichliformes
- Family
- Cichlidae
- Genus
- Hemitilapia
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCichliformes
- familyCichlidae Bonaparte, 1835
- subfamilyPseudocrenilabrinae Fowler, 1934
- genusHemitilapia Boulenger, 1902
- speciesHemitilapia oxyrhynchus Boulenger, 1902
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Hemitilapia oxyrhyncha Boulenger, 1902 Boulenger, 1902 | synonym |
| Tilapia oxyrhynchus (Boulenger, 1902) (Boulenger, 1902) | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Boulenger, G. A. (1902). Diagnoses of new cichlid fishes discovered by Mr. J. E. S. Moore in Lake Nyassa. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (Series 7), v. 10 (no. 55) (art. 11): 69–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222930208678636 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3KTK4. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.