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5. The Freshwater Fishes of South Africa. By J. D. F. GILCHRIST, 

 M.A., D.Sc., PH.D. ; and W. WARDLAW THOMPSON, F.Z.S. 



THE following account of the Freshwater Fishes of South Africa is 

 based on collections in the South African, Bulawayo and Transvaal 

 Museums. * Much of the material was procured by the aid of grants 

 from the British Association and the South African Association for 

 the Advancement of Science. The species have been fully described 

 from as many specimens as possible ; it is hoped that this may 

 contribute towards their clearer determination and delimitation. 

 Some species are not represented in the collections of the South 

 African Museum, or kindred institutions, and for the sake of com- 

 pleteness the description has been taken over from Boulenger's 

 " Catalogue of the Freshwater Fishes of Africa." The bulk of the 

 illustrations are from the blocks used in Dr. Boulenger's book, 

 which have been kindly placed at the disposal of this Institution 

 by the Trustees of the British Museum. L. P. 



ORDER DIPNEUSTI. 



FAMILY LEPIDOSIKENID/E. 



PROTOPTERUS. 



Owen, Proc. Linn. Soc., 1839, p. 27 ; Peters, Reise Mossamb., iv., 

 p. 2 (1868) ; Bouleng., Cat. Freshw. Fish. Afr., i., p. 19 (1909). 



Protomelns, Hogg, Ann. and Mag. N.H., vii., 1841, p. 359. 

 Rhynocryptis, Peters, Mon. Berl. Ac., 1844, p. 414. 



" Body cylindrical, more or less elongate, with pointed tail at 

 the end of which the elongate dorsal and anal fins meet ; limbs 

 slender, styliform ; external gills often distinct, especially in the 

 young." 



* The asterisk before a name indicates that the species is not represented in the 

 Collections of the South African Museum. 



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