OCR Text |
Show 1868.] DR. F. DAY ON A N E W GOBIOID FISH. 273 Length of head |, of pectoral *-, of caudal i, of base of first dorsal j of base of second dorsal ± of base of anal | of the total length. Height of head£, of body }, of first dorsal $, of second dorsaU, of ventral i of anal fa of the total length. 9 Eyes directed upwards and outwards, but not prominent; diameter } of length of head, nearly two diameters from end of 'snout and one diameter apart. Body subcylindrical, gradually tapering to the caudal fin; sides compressed, snout obtuse, cheeks inflated. > Head two-thirds as long as broad, no tentacles; opercles entire; gill-openings rather narrow, only extending opposite to the base of the pectoral fin, and not on to the inferior surface of the head. Mouth terminal; upper jaw slightly the longest. Lips rather thick. m Teeth tinged of a deep sienna colour, rather large and conical, in one row in the upper jaw, whilst in the lower jaw they have a fine band posterior to this external one. The outer tooth in the conical row of the lower jaw is rather larger than the others and slightly recurved. No teeth on the palate. The inferior pharyngeal bones are of an elongated triangular shape, with a median longitudinal suture, and the teeth on it are villiform. The teeth on the superior pharyngeal are in two oval patches and of the same description. _ Fins. First dorsal spines weak, but without filamentous prolongations ; second dorsal rays of nearly equal length. Base of pectoral fin wide. Ventrals adherent to one another, forming a sucker, the base of which is well developed; the fin is not adherent to the abdomen except at its base. Caudal rounded. Anal papillse well developed, and of a red colour. Scales. Fourteen rows between the origin of the second dorsal and that of the anal fin. None on the cheeks or on the head ; they are smaller over the anterior part of the body than on the sides ; several rows exist anterior to the dorsal fin. No lateral line. Colours. Generally light fulvous, with a bluish tinge along the side, becoming dirty white below. Some irregular bands pass down from the back towards the middle of the body, whilst some thin black lines pass upwards along the abdomen opposite to the anal fin. Cheeks glossed with silver. Pectoral, ventral, and anal whitish yellow. Both dorsals diaphanous, with from five to six rows of brown dots. Caudal diaphanous, its upper half, or two-thirds, with eight or nine vertical rows of spots. Hab. The backwaters around Madras, and tanks for at least sixty miles inland, where, however, this species is not so common as the Gobius giuris. PROC. ZOOL. Soc-1868, No. XVIII. |