22 



ME G. A. BOULENGER ON A COLLECTION 



Mastacembelid^. 



23. Mastacembelus mooeii, sp. n, (Plate VII. fig. 1.) 



Depth of body 14 times in total length, length of head (without rostral appendage) 

 6^ times ; vent equally distant from end of snout and base of caudal ; length of 

 head 2i to 3 times in its distance from vent, and ^ in its distance from first dorsal 

 spine. Snout 3 times as long as eye, ending in a trifid dermal appendage which is a 

 little longer than eye ; cleft of mouth extending to below centre of eye ; no prae- 

 opercular spines. Vertical fins united with the rounded caudal. Dorsal XXV-XXVII 

 70-80 ; spines very short. Anal II 70-80. Pectoral | length of head. Scales very 

 small, 30-35 between origin of soft dorsal and lateral line. Brown, tail with a 

 wide-meshed blackish network ; dorsal and anal whitish, with a vertical series of 

 blackish spots or vertical bars ; anal and caudal edged with blackish. 



Total length 440 millim. 



Two specimens from Mbity Rocks. 



This species has been compared with M. marmoratus, Perugia, from the Congo, 

 which diflFers in the more slender body (its depth contained 20 times in the total 

 length) with larger scales, the shorter tail, the longer rostral appendage (^measuring 

 twice the diameter of the eye), and the higher number (30) of dorsal spines. 



I think as many as 13 African species of Mastacembelus may be distinguished, as 

 shown in the following synopsis : — 



Plecobits, g. n. — Teeth large and few, in a single series, dilated at the base, truncated at the end, compressed, 

 slightly grooved in front, curved and directed backvsrards ; 14 teeth in the upper jaw, 12 in the lower ; 

 maxillary exposed. Scales moderate, cycloid. Dorsal with 19 spines, anal with 3. 



Fig. 2. 



Flecodvs paradoxus, sp. n. (Fig.. 2.) — D. XIX 14 ; anal III 12. Depth of body 4 times in total length, 

 length of head 4|. Eye large, longer than snout, § length of head, 1| interorbital width ; maxillary extending 

 to below anterior third of eye ; 3 series of scales on the cheek. So. 65 ^ ; lat. 1. ^. Total length 90 miUim. 



