Erstbeschreibung als Microdontochromis rotundiventralis:
ZooBank:073CAD5B-BFB3-444F-AB14-4A7A0AE47DAA.
- Takahashi, Tetsumi & Y. Yanagisawa, K. Nakaya. 1997. "Microdontochromis rotundiventralis, a new cichlid fish (Perciformes: Cichlidae) from Lake Tanganyika". Ichthyological Research. 44:2:109-117 (crc00966) (Kurzfassung)
Artenschutz: Microdontochromis rotundiventralis wurde nicht durch die Internationalen Union für die Erhaltung der Natur (IUCN) in der Roten Liste bedrohter Arten bewertet. It is strange that M. rotundiventralis has not been assessed by the IUCN but we can assume that it would have the same assessment of Least Concern as M. tenuidentatus. Both species occur in areas with ample plankton and are both found in huge schools of 500 to 2500 individuals. It is so small that it can swim through the mazes of regulated sized seines and lives deep enough and close enough to rocks that illegal mosquito nets have little effect on the population density. The only threat would be a sharp decline in copepods concentrations, but when something like that happens it is either a very local problem and when not the entire lake would be in danger as many species rely on copepods for food.