NO. 3538 CHARACID FISHES — WEITZMAN 17 



lower half of the gill cover. Hoedeman noted that at night there is a 

 dark spot on the lower half of the gill cover of living specimens of a 

 fish, apparently without known locahty. He considered this fish to 

 be beckfordi. These specimens apparently also fit the description of 

 anomalus. I have been unable to confirm the presence of such a 

 spot in hving specimens available to me. The live specimens I have 

 seen are without locality but are like specimens known to have come 

 from near Belem, Pard, BrazU. Professor George S. Myers kindly 

 examined the holotype of beckfordi in the British Museum and noted 

 that the black spot on the lower half of the gill cover is a dirty black 

 smudge, does not consist of melanophores, and occurs on the left side 

 only. Since the spot appears to be an artifact, anomalus is here 

 considered a synonjmi of beckjordi. 



Meinken (1931) described Nannostomus aripirangensis from 

 Aripiranga Island near Belem, Para, Brazil. Herr Meinken (in litt.) 

 has stated that the types of aripirangensis were destroyed during 

 World War II, and no one reexamined them subsequent to Meinken's 

 original account. Hoedeman (1950, p. 118) was possibly correct in 

 assuming aripirangensis to be a subspecies of beckjordi. I have 

 examined two specimens of Nannostomus from Aripiranga Island that 

 were sent to Dr. George S. Myers prior to 1934 by Arthur Rachow, 

 a prominent German aquarist. These specimens are said to be 

 representatives of aripirangensis and are identical to specimens of 

 beckfordi from around Belem. However, Meinken (1954, and in 

 personal communications) has insisted that aripirangensis represents 

 a distinct species. I have seen many living aquarium specimens of 

 Nannostomus without locahty data which I consider to be color vari- 

 ants (possibly geographical races or subspecies) of beckjordi. In 

 appearance, one of these groups of specimens was like specimens of 

 beckfordi collected at Belem, Pard, and Aripiranga Island and had, 

 when breeding, some colors suggesting those described for aripiran- 

 gensis by Meinken. Aripiranga Island, the type locality of aripiran- 

 gensis, is just a few miles from the city of Belem, Para. 



Meinken showed in his drawings a small tertiary horizontal stripe, 

 a stripe which I have never seen in any specimens that I could refer 

 to beckjordi. Meinken's dorsal fin count of 11 rays shoidd be con- 

 sidered with caution and some doubt, for aU Nannostomus and Poeci- 

 lobrycon so far examined by me have had a dorsal fin ray count of 

 ii,8 or a total of 10 rays, not 11. Meinken's count may have been 

 taken from an abnormal or rare variant specimen. Meinken has 

 stated in a personal communication that anomalus (here beckjordi) 

 and aripirangensis have interbred in aquaria and that in this manner 

 the living stock of aripirangensis has been lost in Germany. This 

 indicates at least a close genetic relationship. Recently Vorderwinkler 



