lATES. 105 



2. LATES. 

 Cuv. & Val. Hist. Poiss. ii. p. 88 (1828) ; Giintli. Cat. Fisb. i. p. G7 (18r)9) ; 

 Boiileng. Cat. Fi.sli. i. p. 301 (1895), Poiss. Bass. Congo, p. 380 (1901), and 

 Pish. Nile, p. 452 (1907). 



Body elongate, moderately compressed, covered with moderate or 

 small ctenoid scales ; lateral line complete, extending on the base or 

 nearly to the extremity of the caudal fin. Mouth large, protractile ; 

 maxillary exposed, with supplemental bone; villiform teeth in jaws and 

 on vomer, palatines, and ectopterygoids. Prteorbital, prceoperculum, and 

 exposed parts of post-temporal and clavicle serrated ; operculum ending 

 in a spine. 7 branchiostegal rays. Two dorsals, contiguous or narrowly 

 separated, with 8 or 9 spines; anal shoi't, with three spines; both fins 

 with a scaly sheath at the base. Ventrals below or slightly behind base 

 of pectorals, with a scaly basal process. Vertebrae 25 (12 + 13). 



Fresh waters of Africa (Nile, Senegal, Niger, and Congo Systems) ; 

 mouths of rivers and coasts of South-Eastern Asia and North Australia. 



Synopsis of the Species. 



8-12 



al 



Sc. CO-80 ,77,3)7; interorbiid space at least equ 



to diameter of eye in adult ; caudal 



rounded ; caudal peduncle as long as deep 



or a little longer than deep I. L. niloticus. It ,]). IQ'd. 



Sc. 100-130 i|^ ; interorbital space at least 



equal to diameter of eye in adult ; caudal 



truncate or slightly emarglnate ; caudal 



peduncle much longer than deep . . . 2. L. mkrolepis, B!gr., p. 108. 

 Sc. 1 25-150 ^^^ ; interorbital space about i 



diameter o£ eye ; caudal rounded ; caudal 



peduncle much longer than deep ... 3. /.. aiu/ustifrons, Blgr , p. 109. 



1. LATES NILOTICUS. 

 Perca nilotica, Linn, in Hasselq. lieise Fairest, p. 404 (17G2), and Syst. Nat. i. 



p. 483 (17GG) ; Sonnini, Voy. Egypte, ii. p. 292, pi. xxii. tig. 3 (1799). 

 .Ceniropomm nilotkus, Lacep. Hist. Poiss. iv. p. 277 (1802). 

 Perca latus, I. Gooffr. Descr. Egypt, Poiss. p. 280, pi. ix. fig. 1 (1827). 

 Lates nilotkus, C!uv. & Val. Hist. Poiss. ii. p. 89 (1828), and iii. p. 490 (1829) ; 



GiJnth. Cat. Fish. i. p. G7 (1859), and Pctherick's Trav. ii. p. 207 (1869) ; 



Steind. Sitzb. Akad. Wien, Ix. i. 1S(19, p. G72, pi, i. ; Boulcng. Cat. Fish. i. 



