LATES. 105 



2. LATES. 

 Cuv. & Val. Hist, Poiss. ii. p. 88 (1828) ; Guntli. Cat. Fish. i. p. G7 (1859) ; 

 Bouleng. Cat. Fish. i. p. 361 (1895), Poiss. Bass. Congo, p. 380 (1901), and 

 Fish. 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. Prreorbital, prseoperculum, 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 short, 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. 



Sc. G0-80 .).,_.?. ; interorbit;d space at least equal 



to diameter of eye in adult ; caudal 

 rounded ; caudal peduncle as long as ileep 



or a little longer than deep 1. L. niloticus, L., p. 105. 



12—15 



Sc. 100-130 ^z^c > interorbital space at least 



equal to diameter of eye in adult ; caudal 

 truncate or slightly emarginate ; caudal 

 peduncle much longer than deep . . . 2. L. microlepis, Blgr., p. 108. 



I J 1 D 



Sc. 1 25-150 nszir '■> interorbital space about £ 

 diameter of eye ; caudal rounded ; caudal 

 peduncle much longer than deep . . . 3. L. angustifrons, Blgr., p. 109. 



1. LATES NILOTICUS. 

 Perca nilotica, Linn, in Hasselq. Reise Palsest. p. 404 (1762), and Syst. Nat. i. 



p. 483 (1766) ; Sonnini, Voy. Egypte, ii. p. 292, pi. xxii. tig. 3 (1799). 

 Centropomus niloticus, Lacep. Hist. Poiss. iv. p. 277 (1802). 

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

 Lates niloticus, Cuv. & Val. Hist. Poiss. ii. p. 89 (1828), and iii. p. 490 (1829) ; 



Griinth. Cat. Fish. i. p. 67 (1859), and Petherick's Trav. ii. p. 207 (1869) ; 



Steind. Sitzh. Akad. YYien, lx. i. 1869, p. 672, pi. i. ; Bouleng. Cat. Fish. i. 



