ANDEKSONIA.— MALOPTERURITS. 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, 2J 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 Wady Haifa. L. Loat, Esq. (C). 



40. MALOPTERURUS. 



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

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

 Fish. 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. 



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



Nile and Tropical Africa. 



* Spelt Malapterurus. 



