ANDEESONIA.— MALOPTEKTJEUS. 511 



occipital process; snout obtusely pointed, a little shorter than post- 

 ocular part of head, 2£ times, as long as diameter of eye, which is 

 | interorbital width. Barbels slender, maxillary twice as long as inner 

 mandibular and half length of head, outer mandibular intermediate in 

 length. Occipital process keeled, 2| times as long as broad, widely 

 separated from interneural shield ; a shorter process on each side of 

 occipital process. First dorsal 1 6, twice as distant from root of caudal 

 as from end of snout, first ray as long as head, bony in its basal two- 

 thirds, not serrated. Anal 10. Pectoral f length of head, not reaching 

 ventral ; spine moderately strong, covered with minute asperities. 

 Caudal with crescentic notch. Caudal peduncle depressed, | total 

 length. 25 dorsal and 23 ventral scutes, the last 9 on caudal peduncle; 

 the dorsal scutes raised in a sharp keel on the outer border. Greyish 

 above, dotted and marbled with blackish, white beneath ; four rather 

 indistinct dark bars across the back. 



Total length 50 millim. 



Upper Nile and Bahr-el-Gebel. 

 1. Type. Near Kosheh, S. of Vady Haifa. L. Loat, Esq. (C.). 



40. MALOPTERURUS. 

 Lacep. Hist. Poiss. v. p. 90 (1803) * ; Guv. & Val. Hist. Poiss. xv. p. 518 ; Giinth. 

 Gat. Fish. v. p. 219 (1864) ; Bouleng. Poiss. Bass. Congo, p. 336 (1901), and 

 Pish. Nile, p. 394 (1907). 



Body moderately elongate, cylindrical or a little depressed. No rayed 

 dorsal fin ; an adipose dorsal fin. Anal fin short. Pectoral fin without 

 spinous ray. Ventral fin with 6 rays. Three pairs of barbels : 

 maxillary and two mandibular. Nostrils widely separated from each 

 other. Eye lateral, without free border. Each jaw with a band of 

 villiform teeth ; palate toothless. Gill-openings short, restricted to the 

 sides. Air-bladder very large, free, extending to the origin of the 

 caudal region, divided into two by a constriction. An electric organ 

 extending over the whole body, from the head to the origin of the 

 adipose and anal fins. 



Vertebree 41 to 44 (20-22 + 21-22). 8 branchiostegal rays. 



Nile and Tropical Africa. 



* Spelt Mahtpienmis. 



