Original description as Pelmatochromis spekii:
ZooBank:A93EC0EC-E2E4-40A9-BE8C-A096B424A93E.
- Boulenger, George Albert. 1906. "Descriptions of new fishes discovered by Mr E. Degen in Lake Victoria". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. (ser. 7) 17; pp. 433-452 (crc00190)
Synonyms (1):
- Haplochromis serranoides Regan, 1922, with type locality at Victoria Nile, Uganda. Determiner: Greenwood, 1967
Conservation: Haplochromis spekii is evaluated by the international union for the conservation of nature in the iucn red list of threatened species as (DD) data deficient (2010). Haplochromis spekii has not been reported in Lake Victoria catches after 1980 and no data is available concerning its presence in today's haplochromine fauna. It seems extinct or at least critically endangered, as predators were the first victims of the Nile Perch predation. Most of the fish hunter species disappeared and very few are still surviving in refugia zones such as rocky reefs and planted areas.