CHARACINIDAE FROM VENEZUELA—SCHULTZ 297 
_ Among the species that I have noticed in the literature, and some of 
these are supplemented by specimens in the United States National 
Museum collections, it is concluded that the following should be 
referred to the genus Cyrtocharax Fowler; without the specimens at 
hand, it is, of course, not possible to determine which of these forms 
are valid species and which are synonyms: 
Anacyrtus limaesquamis Cope (genotype), Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc., 
vol. 17, p. 686, 1878 (Peruvian Amazon); Anacyrtus (Cynopotamus) 
magdalenae Steindachner, Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. Wien, vol. 39, 
pp. 77, 78, pl. 12, figs. 2, 2a, 1878 (=Anacyrtus (Cynopotamus) 
argenteus of Steindachner (not Valenciennes), ibid. p. 62) (Rio Magda- 
lena); Anacyrtus (Cynopotamus) amazonum Giinther, Proc. Zool. Soc. 
London, 1868, p. 246 (Xeberos); Charax squamosus Eigenmann and 
Kennedy, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 55, p. 525, 1903 
(Pasito Laguna, Paraguay); Charaz atratoensis Kigenmann, in Kigen- 
mann and Ogle, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 33, p. 33, fig. 8, 1907 
(Truando, Colombia, type U.S.N.M. No. 1664); Charax calliurus 
Kigenmann and Kennedy, in Eigenmann, McAtee, and Ward, Ann. 
Carnegie Mus., vol. 4, No. 2, p. 142, pl. 43, fig. 1, 1907 (Pasito Laguna, 
Paraguay); Cynopotamus brpunctatus Pellegrin, Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. 
Paris, vol. 15, No. 1, p. 18, 1909 (mouth of Rio Suripa, Venezuela) ; 
Cynopotamus essequibensis Higenmann, Mem. Carnegie Mus., vol. 5, 
p. 403, 1912 (Potaro Landing; Tumatumari; Rockstone, all British 
Guiana). 
LaMonte (Amer. Mus. Nov., No. 784, p. 8, 1935) identified 
U.S.N.M No. 94627 from the Rio Jurua as Charax limaesquamis 
(Cope), but upon examination I find it has 1,38 anal rays. This is. 
the same number occurring in Cyrtocharaz amazonum (Giinther), 
and I refer it to this species, although it may be a new one. The 
humeral spot is as large as the eye and there is a darkish blotch on 
the back at the posterior tip of supraoccipital process not mentioned 
for amazonum; otherwise, there are no outstanding differences. A 
study of the original descriptions and what few specimens are availa- 
ble to me at this time indicates that the dorsal and anal rays vary in 
different localities as recorded in table 14. It would appear that in 
C. limaesquamis, C. squamosus, and C. callvurus there is a tendency 
toward 11,10 dorsal rays, but in the other species 11,9 rays. 
Steindachner was the first to describe a Cyrtocharax from northern 
South America, C. magdalenae from the Rio Magdalena, Colombia. 
Since that time, C. atratoensis from the Rio Atrato system, Colombia, 
and C. essequibensis from the Rio Essequibo system of British Guiana 
have been named. All these species are very closely related and differ 
only statistically from each other. Unfortunately, I do not have a 
large series of Cyrtocharaz, except from the Maracaibo Basin, else a. 
