1927] Prlsbry-Bequaert, The Aquatic Mollusks of the Belgian Congo BLD 
Lake Albert 
Lake Albert (also known as Muita Nzige or Itaka) lies at an altitude 
of 704 m., approximately between 1° N. and 2° N., ina deep trench form- 
ing the northern extremity of the Albertine Rift. It is fairly rectangular 
in shape, about 160 kilometers long in a southwest to northeast direction 
and 30 to 40 kilometers wide, covering a superficy of about 5,335 square 
kilometers. Both the western and eastern shores are extremely steep; 
especially on the west side they rise rapidly along the precipitous slopes 
of the Lendu Plateau to heights of 2,000 m. and more above sea level. 
No definite data are at present available as to the physical properties of 
the lake, but it is apparently quite deep. The water is only moderately 
brackish, though scarcely fit to drink. At several points along the western 
and eastern shores there are hot springs and oil seepages, while native 
fishermen have reported that small explosions, bringing mineral oil to 
the surface, occasionally occur some distance off shore. In the southwest 
corner, the lake is bordered by an extensive, low plain, where the Semliki 
brings in the waters of Lake Edward and of the western slopes of Ruwen- 
zori through a delta partly covered with swamps of papyrus. The north- 
ern end extends into two narrow bays one of which receives the Victoria 
Nile, carrying from the east the waters of Lake Victoria; while from the 
western bay the lake flows out into the Albert Nile. The entrance to the 
outlet is obstructed by many sand banks and accumulations of floating 
vegetation. In the lake itself there are no islands worth mentioning. 
It is evident that our knowledge of the fauna of Lake Albert is 
still extremely imperfect, since no extensive or organized collecting has 
ever been carried on. Of vertebrates only seventeen species of fishes and 
one tortoise have been reported. None of these are endemic and the fishes 
belong essentially to the Nile system. The Protozoa are represented by 
four, and the lower invertebrates by twenty species, including 2 Polyzoa, 
12 crustaceans (2 prawns, 7 copepodes, 1 Branchiura, 1 Ostracoda, and 1 
Cladocera), 2 Oligocheta, and 4 Rotifera; only three of the crustaceans 
are endemic. 
The following isa list of the seventeen mollusks (9 Gastropoda and 
8 Pelecypoda) known with certainty to occur in Lake Albert, the endemic 
forms being marked with an asterisk': 
NNN 8 8 CE OR vee La eR ne Wile NEL tn ici EM nT NDS Oamae ees oon UL AE Se ee 
'The first of these mollusks were collected by S. W. Baker when he discovered the lake on March 14, 
1864. His material was described by Adams, H. 1866. ‘List of the shells collected by Samuel White 
Baker, Esq., during his recent explorations in Central Africa.’ Proc. Zool. Soc. London, pp. 375-376. 
No localities were mentioned in that paper, but E. A. Smith later (1888, op. cit., p. 52) stated that S. W. 
Baker informed him “that all the shells mentioned by Mr. Adams and which he has presented to the 
British Museum, came from the Albert Nyanza.’’ Additional specimens were obtained by Emin Pasha, 
F. Stuhlmann, J. E. 8S. Moore, and Schubotz. 
