| OCR Text |
Show 1867.] MR. F. DAY ON INDIAN FISHES. 291 of base of anal fa of the total length. Height of head £, of body \, of dorsal fin nearly -f, of ventral I, of anal nearly | of the total length. Eyes transversely oval, f- of length of head, 1| diameter apart, 1| from end of snout. Dorsal profile more convex than the abdominal, and ascending in a regular curve from the snout to the commencement of the dorsal fin, whence it gradually sinks. Snout rather pointed; cleft of mouth extending scarcely half the distance to below the anterior margin of the orbit; lower jaw slightly the shortest. Nasal cirri extend to the anterior third of the orbit; the maxillary cirri to the posterior margin of the orbit. Preeorbital rather elongated, with its apex anterior, and curved rather towards the median line. Nostrils generic. Fins. Dorsal arises immediately over the ventrals; base slightly scaled. First two undivided rays small; third not quite half so long as the fourth, which is bony, strong, broad, laterally compressed, smooth, and nearly as high as the first soft ray ; last ray hardly more than one-third the length of the first. Pectoral pointed, and reaching as far as the base of the ventral. Anal entirely posterior to the dorsal, arising midway between the base of the pectoral and the termination of the caudal; its undivided rays articulated and weak, when three exist the first is very minute. Caudal deeply forked in its posterior two-tbirds. Scales largest in the anterior half of the body. Lateral line in single tubes; commencing near the upper end of the opercle, it bends gently downwards, and opposite the centre of the pectoral it passes direct to the centre of the caudal. Pharyngeal teeth crooked, pointed, 4, 3, 2/2, 3, 4. Colours. Cheeks golden ; body generally silvery green superiorly, becoming silvery white below the lateral line, the base of each scale being the darkest. After death a darkish line appears along the centre of every scale. Hab. Bowany River. A few of this species were placed in the Ootacamund Lake. It is said to attain to a large size. PUNTIUS (BARBODES) DUBIUS, sp. nov. B.iii. D. 4/9. P. 17. V. 9. A. 3/5. L. 1. 42. L. tr. 9/6. Length of head nearly £, of pectoral £, of caudal a little above |, of base of dorsal i, of base of anal fa of the total length. Height of head fa, of body nearly |, of dorsal J-, of ventral i of anal £ of the total length. Eyes transversely oval; diameter f of length of head, 1£ diameter apart, and the same distance from end of snout. _ Appearances the same as in the last species, from which it may be only a sexual difference. Its cirri are much shorter, its two pairs being of the same length, and only equal to half the diameter of the orbit. The third dorsal spine extends two-thirds the length of the fourth. Snout more elevated, and scales smaller. Hab. Bowany River. |
