Although scientific knowledge of tropical forests is still incomplete, understanding of the organisms living in tropical rivers is even more meager. Tropical waters provide large amounts of protein to the world's population, yet our ability to rationally utilize this important resource is hampered by our ignorance of such basic facts as the species present in these habitats. This project provides partial publication costs for a systematic monograph that will help to rectify this state of affairs. The monograph on the freshwater fishes of western Borneo is based on the extensive collections made during Dr. Tyson Roberts' NSF-funded ichthyological survey of the Kapuas River basin in 1976, as well as on material from earlier collections deposited in European museums. The ichthyofauna includes about 290 species belonging to 120 genera and 40 families. One new family of catfishes, three new genera and 25 new species are described.
