47. CATOPRION. 379 



47. CATOPRION. 



Catoprion, Miill. Sf Trosch. Hm; Ichth. i. p. 22. 



Dorsal fin rather elongate, placed somewhat behind the middle of 

 the length of the body, between ventrals and anal ; anal long. Head 

 and body compressed, elevated, covered Math very small scales ; bcUy 

 keeled, serrated. Cleft of the mouth of moderate Midth : teeth of 

 the intermaxillary conical, in a double scries ; those of the mandible 

 triangular, cutting, in a simple series ; palatine teeth none. GUI- 

 openings very Avide ; gill-rakers of the outer branchial arch long. 



Guiana; BrazU. 



1. Catoprion mento. 



Serrasalmo mento, Ciiv. Mem. JLts. v. p. 369. pi. 28. tig. .3. 

 Catoprion mento, Miill. i^- Trosch. Hor. Ichth. i. p. 22. tab. 2. fig. 5 ; Cuv. 



Sf Val. xxii. p. 304 ; Kiter, Denkschr. Acad. Wiss. Wieii, 1860, xviii. 



p. 34. 



B. 4. D. 16. A. 36-40. Y. 7. 



The height of the body is one-half of the total length (the caudal 

 included), the length of the head two-ninths ; cleft of the mouth 

 dii'ected upwards, chin prominent ; the second infi-aorbital covers the 

 cheek nearly entirely. Abdominal serratiu'e composed of thirty-tliree 

 or thirty-four simple osseous plates. Adipose fin weU developed. 

 Anterior rays of the dorsal and anal fins prolonged. A blackish 

 blotch behind the shoulder ; the long anal ray white. 



Guiana; BrazU. 



Appendix to the Family of Characinoids. 



1. De Joannis has described and figured a smaU fish from the 

 Nile, which is e^•idently distinct fi'om aU the other known species of 

 tropical Africa. His description is sufficiently detailed to ensure the 

 identification of the fish when it shaU be rediscovered ; but it does 

 not contain those characters whereby its systematic position can be 

 fixed, and therefore we prefer to subjoin an abstract of the original 

 description, to the doubtful merit of giving a genei'ic name to a 

 species, to the knowledge of which we are not able to add anything. 



Coregonus niJoticus, Joannis, in Guer. Mag. Zool. IS.'Jo. — " La tete 

 de cette johe petite espece est a pen pros le cinquieme de la longueur 

 du corps, Bouche petite et un pen proboseidiforme ; elle est fort peu 

 fendue ; la levre superieure est un peu plus longue que Tinferieure ; 

 la tete est de forme conique ; les dent^ sont nuUcs ; les ouVcs sont 

 assez ouvertes ; I'oeil touehe presque le sommet de la tete. Corps 

 fusiforme, chair transparente ; la courbure du dos est tres faible, et 

 la ligne inferieure tout-a-fait droite jusqu'au dessous de I'ouverture 

 operculaire, on elle devient courbe, et se releve jiour former la partie 

 inferieure de la tete. Lc rapport de la hauteur la phis grandc du 



