38 THE ANIMALS OF NORTHERN ■ AFRICA 



4 to 7 feet, and, like its Indian cousin, defends itself by raising the fore half of the 

 body from the ground, and puffing out the neck previous to striking. It lacks the 

 spectacle-like max-kings on the head characteristic of the Indian species. The 

 Egyptian jugglers employ this reptile in their performances, after rendering it 

 harmless by the extraction of the poison-fangs. Another desert species is the 

 lizard-snake (Ccelopeltis monspessulana), whose range includes the borders of the 

 Mediterranean, whence it extends eastwards to the Caucasus and Persia. This 

 snake, which feeds on lizards, birds, and mice, grows to a length of from 3 to 4 

 feet, and is greenish brown, greyish yellow, or tawny above, with or without black 

 spots, and yellowish white, often spotted with black, below. 



Fishes Nothing need be stated with regard to the amphibians of North 



Africa, seeing that there are no specially remarkable species, but the 

 fishes are of greater interest, although mainly belonging to tropical types, and not 

 therefore characteristic of the district under consideration. Among the Siluridce, 

 the electric cat-fish (Malapterurus electricus) of the Nile is remarkable for possess- 

 ing, like the electric eel of North America, an electrical organ which occupies the 

 whole length of the body. The numerous representatives of the toothed carps 

 (Cyprinodontidce) of Africa include Cyprinodon calaritanus, which is indigenous 

 to the northern districts of the southern continent and also to the south of Europe. 

 The females of this fish are 3 inches long, while the males measure only 2 inches. 

 The species is one of a dozen members of a group, of which seven are indigenous to 

 the Mediterranean area, and inhabits not only estuaries but salt-lakes and salt- 

 springs. The curious beaked fish of the Nile (Mormyrus oxyrhynchus), which 

 grows to about a yard in length, and was held sacred by the ancient Egyptians, by 

 whom it was often represented in their frescoes, is the northern representative of a 

 numerous family group (31 or my r idee) exclusively confined to Africa. These fishes 

 take their name from the trunk-like prolongation of the muzzle, which is used for 

 probing in the mud in search of food. They are more fully referred to in the sequel. 



Very noticeable is the occurrence in the Nile and some of the rivers of West 

 Africa of the fahaka (Tetrodon fahaca), a representative of the globe-fishes, the 

 great majority of which are marine. Like its kindred, this fish, which grows to a 

 length of from 12 to 18 inches, has the greater part of its body covered with 

 slender spines, and can inflate itself to an enormous size, when it is, of course, 

 compelled to float on the surface. 



More remarkable still is the bichir (Polypterus bichir), which inhabits both 

 the West African rivers and the Nile, although rare in the middle and lower 

 parts of the course of that river. This fish, which grows to about 4 feet in length, 

 is one of two generic types (both African) which at the present day represent the 

 very ancient and once abundant group of so-called fringe-finned ganoids. The 

 body is clothed in an armour of polished bony scales, and the fins consist of a 

 central cartilaginous axis from which diverge the rays. The generic name is 

 derived from the circumstance that the back-fin is broken up into a number of 

 finlets, each with a spine in front. 



Since eels are for the greater part of their existence fresh-water fishes, the 

 species inhabiting northern Africa, as well as those of the rest of the continent, 

 may be mentioned in this place. Although our knowledge of African eels is still 



