Décrit initialement sous Melanochromis vermivorus:
ZooBank:96AB336E-8D9F-4BB9-9B9A-7D25F872C0E2.
- Trewavas, Ethelwynn. 1935. "A Synopsis of the Cichlid Fishes of Lake Nyasa". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. Series 10:65-118 (crc00118)
Conservation: Melanochromis vermivorus est évalué par l\'Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature dans la Liste Rouge des espèces menacées comme étant (LC) Peu menacée (2006). The name vermivorus has been used for the wrong species in the last 25 years and the classification "Least Concern" refers to M. heterochromis. Nevertheless the true Melanochromis vermivorus doesn't seem to be threatened although the populations are much smaller than those of M. heterochromis with which it has never been found together.