Erstbeschreibung als Metriaclima xanthos:
ZooBank:E05821B0-361A-4038-9EA0-217E4B9CF83B.
- Ciccotto, Patrick J. & A. Konings, J.R. Stauffer. 2011. "Descriptions of five new species in the genus Metriaclima (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Malawi, Africa". Zootaxa. 2011(2738):1–25 (crc02837) (Kurzfassung)
Artenschutz: Metriaclima xanthos wurde nicht durch die Internationalen Union für die Erhaltung der Natur (IUCN) in der Roten Liste bedrohter Arten bewertet. M. xanthos was never seen in large numbers and also because its known area of distribution is restricted to a few kilometers of rocky shoreline it could be threatened in its existence. For the foreseeable future there is no threat because the species lives among the rocks at fairly deep levels where nets cannot reach without getting entangled in rocks. Lumbaulo and Mesuli Point are very remote areas in Mozambique and not much soil erosion has taken place there so that the species' habitat is safe for the time being.