PAEATILAPIA. 4 ^1 



3. PAEATILAPIA SERRANUS. 

 (Plate LXXXVII. fig. 1.) 



HemicliTomis serranus, Pfeffer, Thierw. O.-Afr., Fische, p. 23 (1896). 



Paratilapia serranus, Boulenger, Proe. Zool. Soc. 1898, p. 143, and 1901, ii. p. 161 (part.); 

 Pellegrin, Mein. Soc. Zool. France, xvi. 1904, p. 265. 



Depth of body equal to or a little less than the length of the head, twice and 

 nine-tenths to four times in the total length. Snout once and a half to once and 

 four-fifths the diameter of the eye in the adult, as long as the eye in the young, with 

 straight or convex upper profile ; lower jaw projecting a little beyond the snout ; 

 diameter of the eye three and one-third (young) to five times in the length of the 

 head, once to once and a half in the interorbital width, equal to or a little less than 

 the depth of the scaly part of the cheek in the adult, and not less than the width of the 

 prseorbital; maxillary extending to below the anterior border of the eye; teeth, 

 in the adult, in four to six series, the outer large, unicuspid and curved, the others 

 small and all unicuspid or tricuspid, or a part unicuspid and a part tricuspid ; in the 

 young, outer teeth bicuspid, inner tricuspid ; three to five series of scales on the 

 cheek ; large scales on the opercle. Gill-rakers short, the largest more or less 

 distinctly T- or anvil-shaped in the adult, 9 or 10 on lower part of anterior arch. 

 Dorsal fin with 15 to 17 spines and 8 to 10 soft rays ; spines increasing in length to 

 the last, which measures about one-third to one-half the length of the head ; longest soft 

 rays one-half to two-thirds the length of the head. Anal fin with 3 spines and 8 to 10 

 soft rays ; third spine as long as or a little shorter than the last dorsal spine in the 

 adult, often a little longer in the young. Pectoral fin acutely pointed, two-thirds 

 to nearly once the length of the head, not reaching the origin of the anal fin. Ventral 

 fin reaching the vent or the origin of the anal fin in the females, a little further 

 in the males, the outer soft ray being produced. Caudal fin truncate, sometimes 

 obliquely and with the lower angle rounded. Caudal peduncle once and a half 

 to twice as long as deep. Scales with very feeble denticulation, 34-45 j^^g; lateral 



, . 19-23 



lines j^jg. 



Olive-brown above, yellowish white beneath ; usually two more or less distinct 

 brown or black bands on each side, sometimes broken up, the lower extending from 

 the black opercular spot to the root of the caudal fin, the upper from the nape to the 

 upper side of the caudal peduncle ; a dark vertical bar may be present below the eye ; 

 young sometimes with ill-defined dark bars across the back ; some males with the belly 

 blackish ; dorsal and caudal fins greyish, often with small round darker spots ; ventral 



