Original reference as:
- Konings, Ad. 1992. "The Protomelas taeniolatus - complex". The Cichlids Yearbooks. 2:34-37 (crc00808)
Conservation: Protomelas sp. 'steveni taiwan' is not evaluated by the international union for the conservation of nature in the iucn red list of threatened species. P. sp. ‘steveni taiwan’ is perhaps one of the few species in Lake Malawi that are threatened by over-collecting by exporters of ornamental fishes. The populations at Taiwanee and Higga reefs have been heavily fished in last 10 years and their numbers have visibly decreased to a fraction of what they used to be. If the exploitation of this species is not kept withing reasonable limits we may lose forever one of the most beautiful species from the lake.