MYANMAR CATFISH 



19 



Fig. 4 Rita sacerdoium Anderson, 150 mm. BMNH 1998.3.11.1. 



Fig. 5 Rita sacerdotum Anderson, 1 26 mm, CAS 992 1 0. 



wooden stand. A second pair of wires protrudes from the left side of 

 the body, suggesting that the specimen was mounted on a wall, with 

 the right side of the body on display. 



The published illustration of the holotype (Figure 3) resembles 

 the mounted specimen quite closely, except for some damage to the 

 fins. Most importantly, the elongated caudal region of the body, 

 which is identical in proportion to that in the illustration, suggests 

 that the illustration was probably prepared from the dried mount 

 rather than the freshly collected specimen. The body of the specimen 

 is disproportionally long and the caudal region is far more slender 

 and cylindrical than other specimens of Rita from the Ayeyarwaddy 

 (Figures 4, 5). This unusual body form, and the illustration that 

 resulted from drawing the dried specimen, have made comparison 

 between the illustration and fresh specimens of the species problem- 

 atic. On close inspection, it appears that the body of the mounted 

 specimen must have been stretched well beyond the normal propor- 

 tions of the species when it was stuffed. As Anderson collected only 

 a single specimen, it is reasonable to assume that he or his taxider- 

 mist had no model to use to shape his specimen, once it was skinned 

 and the vertebral column removed. Although the general shape of 

 the body does not closely resemble the other specimens from the 

 Ayeyarwaddy, other features of the body are, in fact, quite similar 

 and clearly indicate that the holotype and the other available speci- 

 mens are conspecific. The shape of the palatal tooth patches, the 

 unusually short dorsal spine, and small eye combine to distinguish 

 this species from its congeners. All of the specimens that I have 

 examined exhibit this same suite of characters, albeit with some 



ontogenetic variation. It appears therefore that there is only one 

 species of Rita in the Ayeyarwaddy system, and that the oldest 

 available name for that species is Rita sacerdotum. 



DIAGNOSIS AND REDESCRIPTION OF RITA 

 SACERDOTUM 



As noted above, the inaccurate taxidermic preparation of the holotype 

 of Rita sacerdotum made the specimen longer than it would have 

 been in life, and this precludes using the specimen for any propor- 

 tional measurements standardized against the body length. Therefore, 

 any statement in the description that relates a body measurement to 

 the standard length does not include the holotype. 



Diagnosis 



Rita sacerdotum is readily distinguished from all congeners by the 

 following combination of characteristics: eye small, its diameter 10- 

 13% head length; dorsal-fin spine length no greater than the length 

 of the head posterior to the snout; adpressed dorsal-fin spine does 

 not extend to adipose-fin origin; and palate with a single crescent- 

 shaped patch of primarily large, bluntly conical, teeth of 

 approximately uniform size. 



Description 



Body elongate, slightly compressed anteriorly, progressively more 



