242 On a new Osphromenoid Fish from the Congo. 



XXXVIII. — Description of a new Osphromenoid Fish from 

 the Congo. By Gr. A. Boulengek, F.R.S. 



Anabas ( Ctenopoma) fasciolata. 



No palatine teeth. Depth of body 2£ to 2j in total length, 

 length of head 3^ to 3^ times. Snout obtuse, a little shorter 

 than the diameter of the eye, which is 4 times in length of 

 head ; interorbital space a little broader than diameter of eye ; 

 maxillary extending hardly to below anterior border of eye ; 

 3 or 4 spines above and 1 or 2 below opercular notch ; sub- 

 opercle entire or indistinctly serrated ; four series of ctenoid 

 scales between the orbit and the angle of the prreopercle. 

 Dorsal XVI 8-9; last spine longest, half length of head; 

 middle soft ray produced in a filament. Anal X 9-11. Dorsal 

 and anal fins very narrowly separated from the caudal, which 

 is rounded. Pectoral as long as head. Ventral produced into 

 a filament, reaching fifth or sixth anal spine. Scales very 

 finely striated, 27-28 \ ; lat. 1. ^En 2 - Pale brown, with 6 or 7 

 wavy darker vertical bars broader than the spaces between 

 them ; dorsal and anal fins edged with blackish ; ventrals 

 blackish. 



Total length 70 millim. 



Three specimens from Monsembe, Upper Congo. 



Presented to the British Museum by the Rev. J. H. Weeks. 



The discovery of this new species, together with that of 

 A. nigropannosa at the same locality, raises to four the 

 number of species known from the Congo. Ctenopoma nigro- 

 pannosum was described by Reichenow in 1875 (Sitzb. Gres. 

 nat. Fr. Berl. p. 147) from specimens from the Loango Coast 

 and the Gaboon ; Giinther, in 1896 (Ann. & Mag. Nat. 

 Hist. [6] xvii. p. 269), overlooking Reichenow's description, 

 renamed it C. gabonense. The four Congo species may be 

 easily recognized by means of the following key : — 



I. Caudal peduncle short but very distinct, the space 

 between the anal and caudal tins equalling' at 

 least the diameter of the eye ; subopercle 

 strongly serrated. 



Dorsal with 19 or 20 spines ; ventral not reaching 

 anal ; maxillary extending to below centre of eye . . A, nigropannosa, 



Dorsal with 17 spines ; ventral extending far be- [Reichen. 



yond origin of anal ; maxillary extending to below 

 anterior fourth of eye A, conuica, Blgr. 





