410 ZOOLOGY 



a length of five feet. Their habits are well described in .Mr. P)onlenger's 

 book on "The Fishes of the Congo Basin." A list of the known fish of 

 the Victoria Njanza and of other parts of the Protectorate is given by 

 this gentleman in an appendix. The fish of Uganda are almost identical 

 with those of the tropical Nile, though of course not without close affinities 

 to the fish of the Congo basin, inasmu'^h as only a few miles of forest 

 separate the streams flowing to the Nile from the tributaries of the Congo. 



Tiie fresh-water crabs whicli are fomid in most of the lakes and rivers, 

 even to the tiny mountain streams, all a})parently belong to the same genus 

 (Tefphiisa). Scor]»ious, solifu;ja', spiders, and ticks are of course abundant, 

 but as far as I know offer no species peculiar to the country. The Xephild 

 spiders grow to a considerable size. If one of them were ])laced on a ])age 

 of this book, its legs would extend to the extremities of the page. One of 

 these (Xephlla hicasii) weaves webs tliat must be a yard and a half in 

 diameter. Tlie silk of the web is a pale gold in colour, and gives a 

 beautiful effect wlien the sun strikes it. This Nephila is illustrated by 

 a coloured drawing done h\ .Mr. Doggett. Another species of s])ider 

 constructs col)webs that are so dense as to be opa(iue. Tht'se spiders 

 evidentlv live in colonies, and cover tlie bushes ail round about with 

 festoons of thick grev cobwebs so as to hide most of the leaves and 

 branches. It is most disagreeable to stumble by accident into one of 

 tliese s[)ider colonies and emerge covered from head to foot with thick, 

 clinging cobwebs that are strewn with the remains of the spiders' feasts. 

 Ticks abound in the long grass, and constitute a ]}erfect j)lague amongst 

 domestic animals. I do not remember, however, having encountered or 

 heard of that poisonous tick which is well known on the Zambezi, and 

 whose bite is so venomous as to induce fever. 



As regards insects, much of the bitter complaint which the author of 

 this book wrote in his work on British Central Africa might be repeated 

 in regard to Uganda. The butterflies — especially in the forested regions — 

 are certainlv remarkable for their beauty, and there are enormous moths 

 exquisitelv coloured in shades of pink and grey and lemon-white, and 

 measuring perhaps six inches across the wings. But the caterpillars of 

 these large moths — though equally lieautiful objects, being covered with 

 golden, amber, or orange plush half an inch in depth — are creatures which 

 should not be incautiously handled, as these plush-like hairs can inflict a 

 most painful sting, causing sometimes severe inflammation. 



Among beetles there is the Goliath beetle of West Africa, whose colora- 

 tion of blackish green and very pale pink makes him a striking object 

 on tlie forest path. 



