A Lungfish (Protopterus) from the Middle Zambezi

Abstract

THE Joint Fisheries Research Organization has been so fortunate as to acquire a lungfish from the Middle Zambezi. The specimen came, on May 15, 1957, from a stagnant ‘backwater’ of the Zambezi, at that time receding from its peak flood, in the Chipepo district on the northern bank, and was collected by Mr. Thayer E. Scudder, an anthropologist, who was at the time studying the local Gwembe Tonga people. Notwithstanding the fact that several fish-collecting expeditions have been made to this area, which is due shortly to be flooded by the waters of the Kariba dam, no other specimens are known from this region. However, it is known to the natives, who call it ‘Ikana’. The fish is a specimen of Protopterus annectens (Owen), typically light-coloured ventrally, with the belly and lower head covered with conspicuous dark spots, and is of considerable interest in many respects.