47. catoprion. 379 



47. CATOPRION. 



Catoprion, Mull. Sf Trosch. Hor. Ichth. i. p. 22. 



Dorsal fin rather elongate, placed somewhat behind the mir'dle of 

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

 and body compressed, elevated, covered with very small scales ; belly 

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

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

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

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



Guiana; Brazil. 



1. Catoprion mento. 



Serrasalmo mento, Cuv. Mem. Mm. v. p. 369. pi. 28. fig. 3. 

 Catoprion mento, Mull. 8f Trosch. Hor. Ichth. i. p. 22. tab. 2. fig. 5 ; Cuv. 

 Sf Vol. xxii. p. 304 ; Kner, Denkschr. Acad. Wtss. Wien, 1860, xviii. 

 p. 34. 



B. 4. D. 16. A. 36-40. V. 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 

 directed upwards, chin prominent ; the second infraorbital covers the 

 cheek nearly entirely. Abdominal serrature composed of thirty-three 

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

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

 blotch behind the shoulder ; the long anal ray white. 

 Guiana; Brazil. 



Appendix to the Family of Characinoids. 



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

 Nile, which is evidently distinct from all the other known species of 

 tropical Africa. His description is sufficiently detailed to ensure the 

 identification of the fish when it shall 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 generic name to a 

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



Coregonus niloticus, Joannis, in Guer. Mag. Zool. 1835. — " La tete 

 de cette jolie petite espece est a peu pres le cinquieme de la longiteur 

 du corps. Bouche petite et un peu proboscidiforme ; elle est fort peu 

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

 la tete est de forme conique ; les dents sont nulles ; les oui'es sont 

 assez ouvertes ; l'ceil touche 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 l'ouverture 

 operculaire, ou elle devient courbe, et se releve pour former la partie 

 inferieure de la tete. Le rapport de la hauteur la plus grandc du 



