Specimens previously identified as Chrysichthys auratus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809) from Lake Turkana are recognized as distinct from this and all other species of Chrysichthys. Chrysichthys turkana new species, is described and distinguished from C. auratus on the basis of several proportional metrics, the most notable of which is a relatively large eye. The implied endemism of C. turkana and of other fishes suggest that in-situ diversification has taken place within Lake Turkana since its Miocene-Pliocene origin and in spite of its intermittent connection with the Nile basin during the Pliocene, Pleistocene and Holocene.

New taxon: Chrysichthys turkana Hardman