MAIVIBA AND MALE 193 



The only remark I would pass on this most apt observa- 

 tion is that we have no statement from Dr. Marshall 

 whether the snake really was a poisonous one : it is only 

 presumed to be so from the effects of the bite. 



Fish. 



The most noteworthy fish of the lake is the Lung Fish 

 (Protopterus), known to the Baganda as '* E'mamba," and 

 a favourite article of food with them. It attains a large 

 size, up to five feet long, and has a flattened body with 

 broad tapering tail, furnished with a wavy fin along both 

 dorsal and ventral edges. The Baganda spear the mamba 

 in shallow water, but it may frequently be met with in 

 deep, open water, coming up to the surface to breathe 

 in the same way as does a tadpole. On one occasion 

 a mamba appearing just behind the stern of the canoe 

 in which I was sitting emitted the used-up air from its 

 lungs with such a loud grunt, that I turned round expecting 

 to see a hippopotamus ! 



Having taken a new breath, the mamba turns on its 

 side and gives a peculiar heave of its flat tail as it dives 

 down again, but, being very conspicuous, it is quickly 

 perceived by a soaring fish eagle, who stoops to secure it. 



Probably they spawn during the rainy season in shallow 

 water, for shortly after the heavy rains the young may 

 be found there. I did not find the tough flesh of the 

 mamba worth eating, but that of a species of Siluridae, 

 called " E'male " by the natives, is as good as any fish 

 I know. It is commonly called " Mud-fish " by the 

 English, but specimens caught in the open waters around 

 the islands had no suspicion of muddiness, and the firm, 

 boneless white flesh was most excellent eating. The Male 

 has a flat, broad head covered with bony plates (see Fig.), 

 and has long barbels round the mouth. The body is 

 somewhat cylindrical ; it may measure two feet or a little 

 over. 



14 



