Astatotilapia is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of haplochromine

Haplochromine

The haplochromine cichlids are a tribe of cichlids in subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae called Haplochromini. This group includes the type genus plus a number of closely related genera such as Aulonocara, Astatotilapia, and Chilotilapia. They are endemic to eastern and southern Africa...

 cichlid

Cichlid

Cichlids are fishes from the family Cichlidae in the order Perciformes. Cichlids are members of a group known as the Labroidei along with the wrasses , damselfish , and surfperches . This family is both large and diverse. At least 1,300 species have been scientifically described, making it one of...

s from Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, with a single species in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 and Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

. Many species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 have been moved between this genus and Haplochromis

Haplochromis

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"...

, and while some consensus has been reached in recent years, their mutual delimitation is still far from settled.

At present, eight validly described species are placed in Astatotilapia:

• Astatotilapia bloyeti (Sauvage, 1883) – Bloyet's Haplo
• Astatotilapia burtoni
• Astatotilapia calliptera (Günther, 1894) – Eastern Happy
• Astatotilapia desfontainii (Lacepède, 1802)
• Astatotilapia flaviijosephi
• Astatotilapia stappersii
• Astatotilapia swynnertoni (Boulenger, 1907)
• Astatotilapia tweddlei

Two undescribed populations appear to be distinct species:

• Astatotilapia sp. 'dwarf bigeye scraper'
• Astatotilapia sp. 'shovelmouth'