Erstbeschreibung als Metriaclima melissae:
ZooBank:70E1E8BD-6C9A-4041-9F7F-11806AC5C626.
- Stauffer, Jay Richard Jr. & Adrianus F. Konings. 2023. "Description of a geographically variable elongate rock-dwelling cichlid (Cichliformes: Cichlidae) from Lake Malaŵi, Africa". Zootaxa. 5296(2):265–274. DOI: 10.11646/ZOOTAXA.5296.2.7 (crc12232) (Kurzfassung)
Artenschutz: Metriaclima melissa wurde nicht durch die Internationalen Union für die Erhaltung der Natur (IUCN) in der Roten Liste bedrohter Arten bewertet. Two of the three known variants, "Chailosi" and "Chewere", are very popular aquarium fish and regularly exported from the lake, however, it never appeared that the local populations were negatively affected from the extraction by the ornamental fish collectors and have been common residents whenever scuba divers visit their habitats. Both these geographical variants are also bred commercially which also takes the pressure off the wild populations. Over-collection for the ornamental fish trade would be the only threat to the well-being of M. melissa as it is not caught by local fishers.