120 MASTACEMBELIDJi:. 



its distance from head about 3J times length of latter. Snout 3 times 

 as long as eye, ending in an appendage which is nearly twice as 

 long as eye ; mouth extending to below anterior border of eye ; a small 

 praeorbital spine ; two prseopercular spines. Dorsal XXVI-XXX 80 ; 

 distance between first spine and head about, f length of latter. Anal II 

 80. Caudal rounded. Pectoral about \ length of head. Scales very- 

 small, 20 between origin of soft dorsal and lateral line. Purplish grey 

 above, yellowish beneath, sides with a dark network the meshes of 

 which widen towards the caudal ; dorsal and anal fins dark purplish 

 with a light edge, with whitish spots towards the caudal. 



Total length 290 millim. 



Liberia. — Type in Leyden Museum *. 



Fifr. 73. 



Mastacembelus loennbergii. 

 Type. 



8. MASTACEMBELUS LOENNBER.GII. 



Mastacembelus cryptacanthus (non Giinth.), Lonnb. Olivers. Vet.-Akad. Forh. 



Stockholm, 1895, no. 3, p. 181. 

 Mastacembelus loennbergii, Bouleng. Tr. Zool. Soc. xv. 1898, p. 23, and Proc. Zool. 



Soc. 1902, ii. p. 329, pi. xxix. fig. 3 ; Pellegr. Poiss. Bass. Tchad, p. 138, fig. 



(1914). 



Depth of body 13 to 17 times in total length, length of head 7 to 9 

 times. Vent nearly equally distant from end of snout and from caudal, 

 its distance from head 2-| to 3j times length of latter. Snout 3 times 

 as long as eye, ending in an appendage which is about 1-| times as 

 long as eye ; mouth extending to below posterior nostril ; an erectile 

 spine below posterior nostril ; 2 or 3 strong opercular spines. Dorsal 

 XXVIII-XXXII 100-130 ; spines short, last scarcely longer than 

 eye ; distance between first spine and head ^ to f length of latter. 

 Anal II 100-130. Caudal obtusely pointed. Pectoral about \ length 

 of head. Scales very small, 15 to 18 between origin of soft dorsal and 

 lateral line ; latter formed of a few tubules, widely separated from one 

 another. Uniform brownish with an ill-defined darker lateral band, or 

 spotted with darker and lighter, the lower parts of the sides sometimes 



* I am indebted to the kindness of Mile. Dr. C. L. Popta for notes on this specimen. 



