page_title: Haplochromis
section_title: Formerly in Haplochromis
hierarchical_section_title: Haplochromis / Species / Formerly in Haplochromis
caption_attribution_description: English: Nimbochromis venustus (male) Photo: Dr. David Midgley own photo
context_page_description: Haplochromis is a ray-finned fish genus in the family Cichlidae. It has been used as the default "wastebin taxon" for Pseudocrenilabrinae cichlids of the East African Rift, and as such became the "largest" fish "genus". Many of these cichlids are popular aquarium fishes; like similar Haplochromini they are known as "haplos", "happies" or "haps" among aquarium enthusiasts.
  The genus was established by F.M. Hilgendorf in 1888. It was originally conceived as a subgenus of A.C.L.G. Günther's "Chromis", at that time an even larger "wastebin genus" for Pseudocrenilabrinae cichlids. The type species of Hilgendorf was H. obliquidens. "Chromis" of Günther turned out to be a junior homonym of G. Cuvier's ocean fish genus Chromis, already established in 1814, and was abolished. As the years went by, other genera of Haplochromini were lumped with and split again from Haplochromis, and the final delimitation of the clade around H. obliquidens is not yet done.
context_section_description: Among other genera of Haplochromini that were formerly included here, many are small or monotypic. The distinctness of these is highly doubtful, as they may just be distinct lineages of Haplochromis or other haplochromines. That nonwithstanding, Haplochromini genera to which some former "Haplochromis" have been removed are in particular:
  
  
   
  Astatoreochromis (3 species)
  Astatotilapia (8 described species)
  Aulonocara (22 species)
  Buccochromis (7 species)
  Caprichromis (2 species)
  Champsochromis (2 species)
  Cheilochromis (monotypic)
  Chetia (6 species)
  Copadichromis (25 described species)
  Ctenochromis (5 living and 1 extinct described species)
  Ctenopharynx (3 species)
  Cyrtocara (monotypic)
  Dimidiochromis (4 species)
   
  Eclectochromis (2 species)
  Fossorochromis (monotypic)
  Hemitaeniochromis (monotypic)
  Lethrinops (24 species)
  Maylandia/Metriaclima (25 species)
  Mchenga (6 species)
  Melanochromis (27 species)
  Mylochromis (21 species)
  Naevochromis (monotypic)
  Nimbochromis (5 species)
  Nyassachromis (8 species)
  Orthochromis (14 species)
  Otopharynx (13 species)
  Pharyngochromis (2 species)
   
  Placidochromis (43 species)
  Protomelas (15 species)
  Pundamilia (4 species)
  Pseudocrenilabrus (3 species)
  Sargochromis (8 species)
  Schwetzochromis (monotypic)
  Sciaenochromis (4 species)
  Stigmatochromis (4 species)
  Taeniochromis (monotypic)
  Taeniolethrinops (4 species)
  Thoracochromis (12 species)
  Tramitichromis (5 species)
  Trematocranus (3 species)
  Tyrannochromis (4 species)
   
  Some other Pseudocrenilabrinae were also – mainly by early authors – included in Haplochromis, though they are not members of its tribe. These are:
  Anomalochromis thomasi of the Hemichromini
  Altolamprologus compressiceps of the Lamprologini
  Tilapia jallae of the Tilapiini
caption: Giraffe Hap (Nimbochromis venustus)
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