ÖFVERSIGT AF K. VETENSK.-AKAD. FÖRHANDLINGAR 1895, N:0 3. 185 



The head is depressed, entirely covered with soft skin. Its 

 leiigth is contained about three tinies in tlie length of the body 

 without the caudal fin (in P. platychir 4 times and a third), it 

 is longer than it is broad. The height of the body is contained 

 five tinies in the length (seven in P. platychir). The tail and 

 posterior part of the body is compressed. The eyes are small, 

 nearly directed upwards, placed on the same distance from the 

 end of the operculum, as from that of the snout. The width of 

 the interorbital space is shorter than the length of the rounded 

 snout. The occipital process is shorter than the anterior part of 

 the basal plate of the dorsai, the former being about as long as 

 the diameter of the eye. The maxillary barbels reach the base 

 of the pectoral spine, the outer mandibulary barbels, which are 

 situated at the angle of the mouth extend beyond the root of 

 the pectoral fin, the inner mandibulary barbels are about half 

 as long. The anterior nostril is tubiform on the upper lip. The 

 posterior is at the same distance from the anterior nostril as from 

 the middle of the eye. The teeth are villiform in both jaws. The 

 gillopenings are wide but the gillmembranes are anteriorly united, 

 which characteristic possibly separates this form from the other 

 African Pimelodonts, at least from P. platychir, in which species 

 they are »only slightly united in front» (Günther). Dorsal rays: 

 I — 7. The dorsal spine is serrated in front and shorter than the 

 pectoral spine, which is strongly serrated behind, less so in front. 

 The length of the base of the pectoral fin is much longer than its 

 distance from the occiput, but only about one half of the length 

 of the large adipose fin. The adipose fin is very long. It extends 

 nearly to the root of the caudal, and in front of the regulär 

 adipose fin there is a slight dermal crest extend ing nearly to the 

 dorsal fin, otherwise the interspace would be about two thirds of 

 the length of the base of the dorsal fin (in P. balayi »fere nulluni). 

 The pectoral fin with a strong spine and 8 soft rays (no spine 

 and 10 soft rays in P. platychir). The anal fin with 9 soft 

 rays (8 in P. platychir, 12 in P. balayi). The caudal fin is 

 rounded (»emarginate with the lobes pointed» in P. platychir 



