. Bulletin of the Natural History Museum Zoology. Fig. 4 Rita sacerdoium Anderson, 150 mm. BMNH Fig. 5 Rita sacerdotum Anderson, 126 mm, CAS 99210. 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, sugges
. Bulletin of the Natural History Museum Zoology. Fig. 4 Rita sacerdoium Anderson, 150 mm. BMNH Fig. 5 Rita sacerdotum Anderson, 126 mm, CAS 99210. 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
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Keywords: ., bhlconsortium, bookc, bookcentury1900, bookcollectionbiodiversity
