Original description as Astatotilapia nigrescens:
ZooBank:809CD588-1C29-4928-9A88-AC134D0F4396.
- Pellegrin, Jacques. 1909. "Diagnoses préliminaires de poissons nouveaux de l'Afrique orientale anglaise recueillis par M. Ch. Alluaud". Bulletin de la Société Zoologique de France. v. 34; pp. 156-159 (crc01447)
Conservation: Haplochromis nigrescens is evaluated by the international union for the conservation of nature in the iucn red list of threatened species as (DD) data deficient (2010).