ARKIV FÖR ZOOLOGI. 



BAND 7. N.o 9. 



A new Subspecies of Clawless Otter (Aoiiyx 

 capeiisis coiigic«a) from Lower Congo. 



Described 



by 



EINAR LÖNNBERG. 



With 2 Textfigures. 



A specimen of Clawless Otter from Lower Congo has re- 

 cently been presented to the R. Natural History Museum by 

 the Swedish Missionary Mr. K. E. Laman, and this specimen 

 appears to differ from other African Clawless Otters in such a 

 considerable degree that I think it must be regarded as a new 

 subspecies. To make sure about this it is of importance to 

 find out to which races the different names given to Clawless 

 Otters from Africa ha ve been applied. 



The oldest specific name for an African Clawless Otter is 

 »capensis» given by Schinz 1821 and, as already is expressed 

 by the name itself, it belongs to the South African race. Two 

 years låter F. Cuvier^ created the name nnunguis » but as this 

 was applied to a specimen »rapporté du Cap» by Delalande 

 it is perfecth' synonymous with capensis, and the same is the 

 case with »Delalandi» Lesson. 



In the 3^ear 1838 Waterhouse named several mammals 

 from Fernando Po and among them was also a skin of an otter 

 which he described as »Lutra Poensis»? Oldfield Thomas'' 

 and Trouessart have regarded this name, as well, as synonymous 



1 Diet. Se. Nat. XXVII p. 247. 



^ Proe. Zool. Soc. London 1838 p. GO. 



^ Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1889. 



Avl-iv för zoologi. Band 7. N.o 9. 1 



