OCR Text |
Show 1868.] MR. F. DAY ON NEW INDIAN FISHES. 153 total length. Height of head 4, of body |, of first dorsal i, of second dorsal 4, of anal 4, of ventral -\ of the total length. Eyes directed upwards and slightly outwards, diameter f of length of head, nearly 1 diameter from end of snout, and less than 5 of a diameter apart. Body somewhat compressed. Head as broad as high. The posterior extremity of the maxilla extends to beneath the anterior third of the orbit. Cheeks somewhat swollen. Horizontal margin of prseoperculum rather longer than the vertical. Teeth in fine villiform rows in both jaws, and having in the lower jaw an external recurved series, the outer one of which on either side is nearly as large again as the others, and curved outwards and slightly backwards ; it is situated nearer to the angle of the mouth than the centre of the jaw. Fins. First dorsal spines flexible, prolonged, and in the adult a long filamentous termination to the second spine, which, however, is not elongated in the young. Pectoral somewhat pointed, none of its rays silk-like. Ventral reaches to the commencement of the anal. Caudal somewhat pointed. Scales finely ctenoid, with strise converging posteriorly. Seven horizontal rows between the bases of the second dorsal and anal anteriorly, and nine between the end of the dorsal and the base of the caudal. Colours. In the adult pale ochreous, becoming of a dirty-white colour on the abdomen. Upper surface of head, cheeks, and superior two-thirds of the body covered with various-sized rusty-brown dots of irregular shapes, and which form oblique vertical bands on the cheeks and opercles. Pectoral and ventral unspotted, but with a deep greyish edge. First dorsal with a deep-black mark between the first and fifth spine at about half the height of the fin, which above is of a canary-yellow colour, and the ends of the spines black ; between the fourth spine and the end of the fin are deep-brown spots. Second dorsal edged externally with brown, and having a yellow band with a black base dividing it from the lower f of the fin, which is spotted with light brown. Anal yellow, edged with black in its external half. Caudal barred with eight or nine rows of chestnut spots. In the young the dorsal fins are spotted with brown, and the black mark in the first dorsal does not generally show itself until the fish is above 2 inches long. Pectoral, ventral, and anal yellow, without any markings. This very pretty little Goby, which I have named after m y friend A. C. B. Neill, Esq., F.Z.S., is not uncommon in the backwaters and along the sea-shore. The G. neilli is allied to the G. criniger, C. & V., from which it differs in several points, amongst which are that in the former the neck is scaled f of the distance between the base of the first dorsal and the orbits, whilst in the G. criniger this part is scaleless. In the G. neilli there is an external enlarged row of teeth in the lower jaw, the external of which is much larger than the others, and |