OCR Text |
Show 196 SURGEON F. DAY ON NEW FISHES FROM MADRAS. [Mar. 12, BROTULA MACULATA, sp. nov. B.viii. D. 115. V. 1. A. 107. Length of specimens up to Sy1^ inches. Length of head |, of pectoral |, of base of dorsal f, of base of anal \, of caudal fa of the total length. Height of head fa, of body £, of dorsal fa, of anal fa of the total length. Eyes. Diameter ± of the length of head, f of a diameter from end of snout, -J- of a diameter apart. Body eel-like, compressed. The posterior extremity of the maxilla extends to beneath the centre of the orbit. A strong spine at the operculum; two smaller ones at the angle of the praeoperculum. Cirri two on the snout, and two on either side of the upper jaw ; three pairs on the lower jaw, making in all six pairs. Teeth in fine sharp rows, becoming single posteriorly; a small patch on the vomer, and a single row on the palate. Fins. Not enveloped in skin. Dorsal, caudal, and anal joined. Dorsal commences over the base of the pectoral. Ventral two-thirds as long as the head, bifid at its extremity, and reaching beyond the base of the pectoral. Pectoral under the operculum. Scales minute, covering body and head. Air-bladder large and rounded posteriorly. Colours. Of a light dirty greenish brown, with a few reddish-brown spots about the body, and a round blackish mark behind the eye. Muzzle and cirri of upper jaw blackish. Fins greyish, external portions deep black. Three specimens, captured in the sea at Madras in November 1867. Rather closely approaches Brotula ensiformis, Gunther; but in that species the snout is longer than the eye, in this one-third shorter. The maxilla in B. maculata does not extend so far backwards as in the former species. PUNTIUS (CAPOETA) LEPIDUS, sp. nov. B.iii. D. 3/8. P.15. V. 9. A. 2/5. C.19. L.l. 21. L. tr. 5/3. Length of specimens from 1 to 4 fa inches. Length of head i, of pectoral T, of base of dorsal \, of base of anal fa, of caudal \ of the total length. Height of head i, of body i, of dorsal fin ^, of anal § of the total length. Eyes. Diameter -f of length of head, nearly § of a diameter from end of snout, 1 diameter apart. Body strongly compressed; in appearance resembling the young of the Puntius (Leuciscus) filamentosus, C. & V. Lower jaw slightly shortest. Snout somewhat obtuse. Maxillary cirri thin, and extending to under the centre of the orbit. Fins. Upper surface of dorsal fin concave; it commences midway between snout and base of caudal fin; first undivided ray short, the third cartilaginous and articulated. None of the fin-rays elongated. The caudal deeply lobed. |