556 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History [Vol. LXVI 



1858. — Barth (II, p. 605), who traveled along the upper Niger River, states that 

 the manatee occurs in the Isa near Timbuctu and (V, p. 103), in reference to the 

 decorations of some natives of the Niger above Timbuctu, he writes: "They wore also 

 a rich profusion of white rings which are made of the bones of that very remarkable 

 animal the 'ayu' (Manatus), which seems to be not less frequent in the western than 

 in the eastern branch of the Niger," and (p. 472) "The lake [Debu, upper river, above 

 Timbuctu] besides fish, contains numbers of that curious animal called 'ayu' 

 (Manatus)." 



1901. — Gratiolet (p. 248), on the report of M. Carpeaux of the Colonial Troops, 

 states that the manatee occurs at Zinder and at Segou, above Timbuctu. 



1908. — Maclaud (pp. 289-290) reproduces a photograph of a manatee in the 

 Niger which he credits to the Mission Desplagnes, an archaeological expedition which 

 studied the Timbuctu region. Of course, it is only an assumption that this photo- 

 graph was taken in the upper river. Maclaud writes that the manatee is not uncom- 

 mon in the lakes along the Niger near Timbuctu, but that this animal has almost 

 disappeared in the large coastal rivers. 



1906. — Johnston's (p. 246) observation that it would be remarkable if the 

 manatee could pass the Niger rapids from Busa to Say, seems to be answered by these 

 several reports. 



1925. — I am informed by M. Lucien Blancou that in a book by Captain Pivert 

 titled, 'Mes Chasses en Afrique et en Extreme Orient/ published at Paris in 1925, 

 there is a photograph of a manatee taken in the Niger at Gao or Ansongo. 



Benue River: 1856. — Vogel (Owen, 1856, pp. 345-346) has described, and Owen 

 has named a manatee, the type of which is now in the British Museum, and which 

 Vogel took in the Benue. 



1857. — Barth (II, p. 605) records that he heard stories of this animal along the 

 Benue but did not see the animal. 



1924. — Migeod (p. 167) found manatees common in this river especially at 

 Numan, below Yola. 



1931. — M. Lucien Blancou, of the French Colonial administration, informs me in 

 correspondence that at Lere he saw articles made of manatee skin and that he has 

 seen a photograph of a manatee taken in Lake Lere. 



Gulf OF Guinea 



Old Calabar River: 1860. — McBain (p 150) described a skull from Old 

 Calabar which is now (Turner, 1912, p. 156) in the Anatomical Museum of the 

 University of Edinburgh. 



Beticka-ba-Mallale: 1897. — Sjostedt (p .45) records the presence of manatees 

 at this point on the coast near Cameroon Mountain. 



Cameroons: 1877. — Peters (p. 485) writes of a specimen taken by the Buchholz 

 Expedition near Wuri on the Cameroon River, and states that the manatee is also 

 found near the mouth of the river at Doctor's Cape, as well as in a larger stream near 

 Mungo. 



1886. — Hartlaub (p. 15, et seq.) records a specimen in the Berlin Museum and 

 one in the Lubeck Museum from the Cameroons. In a letter quoted by Hartlaub, 

 Pechuel-Loesche states that the manatee is found in the Cameroons. 



1897. — Three embryos from the Cameroons are described by Klikenthal (1897a). 



