Pallidochromis tokolosh Turner, 1994
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
Pallidochromis tokolosh is species of cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi where it is only known from deep waters (50 to 150 metres (160 to 490 ft)). This species is piscivorous and can reach a length of 28 centimetres (11 in) SL. It is the only known member of its genus. The specific name refers to the tokoloshe, the name of an evil water spirit in many central African languages, and is an allusion to the bulging eyes, long snout and pot belly of this species when trawled from the great depths and which has inspired many carvings which are sold around the Lake.
Wikipedia contributors, Pallidochromis tokolosh; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:29:23.104973+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Pallidochromis tokolosh Turner, 1994
- Name authority
- Turner, 1994
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cichliformes
- Family
- Cichlidae
- Genus
- Pallidochromis
- 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
- genusPallidochromis Turner, 1994
- speciesPallidochromis tokolosh Turner, 1994
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
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.
- Turner, G. F. (1994). Pallidochromis tokolosh, a new genus and species of deep water cichlid (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Malawai, Africa. Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 5 (4): 377–383. 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:4C5K6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.