Paratilapiinae

Taxonomy

In any case, Paratilapia tends to occupy a position between African subfamilies such as the Ptychochrominae and the Indo-Malagasy clade comprising the Etroplinae and Ptychochrominae in most analyses, and this may well be correct. If so, its ancestors must have separated from those of all other living cichlids in the Mesozoic. They most probably were already a distinct lineage by the Turonian (about 90 million years ago), as the Indo-Malagasy clade must have originated before the split of Madagascar from the Indian Plate, which commenced then and was finished by the end of the Cretaceous. Consequently, they would have to be classified as a subfamily of their own, the Paratilapiinae. While currently included in this genus, P. toddi probably does not belong here. Correct placement is uncertain.