OCR Text |
Show 8 MR. G. A. BOULENGER ON THE [Jan. 15, freshwater fishes from S.E. Asia and South America, apparently most nearly allied to the Centrarchidce, but distinguished from them by the absence of the entopterygoid. The new genus here described is its first-known African representative. POLYCENTROPSIS, gen. u. Body short, elevated, very strongly compressed; scales moderately laigo, ciliated. Lateral line incomplete, reduced to a few tubes. Mouth large, extremely protractile, the ascending processes of the premaxillaries extremely long and extending to the occipital region ; villiform bands of very small teeth in the jaws, on the vomer, and on the palatines ; head for the greater part covered with scales; prseorbital, prseopercle, and interopercle serrated : opercle ending in a spine. Gill-membranes separate ; six brancbi-ostegals; no pseudobranchia?. Dorsal and anal fins nearly equally developed, with numerous strong spines and the soft portion much reduced. Ventrals below the pectorals, close together, with a strong spine. Vertebra? 23 (10+13)'. 15. POLYCENTROPSIS ABBREVIATA, sp. n. (Plate III. fig. 2.) Depth of body twice in total length, length of head twice and a half. Snout acutely pointed, chin slightly projecting ; diameter of eye a little longer than snout or interorbital width ; nearly one third length of head ; maxillary extending to below posterior third of eye ; suborbital arch very slender ; 6 or 7 series of scales on the cheek. 10 gill-rakers on lower part of anterior arch, the longest nearly as long as gill-filaments. Dorsal X V - X V I 11 ; spines increasing in length to the fourth and decreasing from the seventh or eighth, the longest half length of head and a little longer than the soft rays. Anal similar, X 9. Pectoral obtusely pointed, half length of head. Ventral longer, produced in a filament, extending beyond origin of anal. Caudal truncate. Caudal peduncle extremely short. Sq. 32-35 ^; lat. 1. o-ii. Pinkish brown, marbled with darker; spinous dorsal and anal dark brown, with darker and lighter spots and edged with black ; ventrals blackish ; base of soft dorsal, anal, and caudal blackish, edged with pink. Total length 68 millim. Two specimens. CICHLID.E. 16. HEMICIIROMIS FASCIATUS Peters. 17. UEMICIIROMIS BIMACULATUS Gill. 18. PELMATOCIIROMIS G U E N T H E R I Sauv. (Hemichromis volice Stdr.; H. tersquamatus Gthr.) 19. PELMATOCHROMIS ANSORGII, sp. n. (Plate IV. fig. 1.) Teeth in 2 or 3 series in each jaw, outer largest but rather small. Depth of body 2i to 2j times in total length, length of 1 Nandus marmoratus lias also 23 vertebra-, but 1.34-10. |