330 REPORT ON FISHES. PART 11: SISORIDAE AND rvrRINinAE 



Labco diplostoiiius belongs to the group of species characterised by a tliick and fleshy 

 iiead, sh<irt dorsal and anal fins, a thick, prominent and pendulous snout, a wide mouth, homy 

 jaws, and thick and loose lips. The species is distributed along both the l'"astern and the 

 Western slopes of the Himalayas, and presents a certain .-nndunl of \ariatinn in biuly 

 proportions, etc., which, as far as I can judge from the nialcrial bclMrc nie. is UKirc indixidual 

 than geographical. 



In the collections nf the Indian Museum /.. (lif^liislniiiiis is rciirescntcd li\- 11 specimens. 

 The localities of 10 are definitely known, 5 are fmm Siml;i, 1 fnmi ilardwar, 2 frnm 

 Assam, 1 from Chuniba and 1 from Baluchistan. The lirst nine specimens are the orig- 

 inals of Day's description of the species, while the one from LJalnchistan is a representative 

 of the series collected by Dr. l^rich Zugmayer fnim the \'indar l\i\er at Snnnnani during 

 his travels in that ciunitry in l*'!!. The lltli s])ecinien, labelled "/.iilh\) riciinrlixiiflnis" 

 (Keg. No. Cat. 687), is fmm the old collections of the .\siatic Society of llengal, but 

 unfortunately its history is completely effaced from the original label which is still attached 

 to the specimen. It appears probable, however, that the specimen comes from "Northern 

 part of Bengal" and is the original of McClelland's descrijition of Gobio ricnorhynchus. for, 

 in reference to the only specimen of the species that he examined, he mentioned: "The 

 .specimen here described was found by Mr. Hodgson by whom it was presented to the Asiatic 

 Society" (r'/'. cit. p. 364). The only other Asiatic Society of Bengal specimen of the species 

 preserved in the Indian Museum collections is Day's original from Ilardwar. 



The 'S'ale North India Expedition obtained 2 specimens f)f the species in March, 1932, 

 from the following localities in Kashmir: 



Srina,gar (Sta. K 7) ; ca. 5,200 ft 1 ( 16.S mm.) 



jheluni River. l'ain|inr ( Sta. K 10) ; ca. 5,200 ft 1 ( 140 mm.) 



The s|)ecimens agree in all respects with the above mentioned series of specimens from 

 the different localities as alst) with lleckel's description of the species, and do not call for 

 any special remarks, except for the fact that there are only 41 scales along the lateral line 

 and 13 rows of scales in a transverse series bet\\(.'en the bases of tlu' dorsal and the \entral 

 fins. The scales on the chest region are considerably reduced in size and are jiartly imbedded 

 in the skin, thereby producing a more or less smooth under surface. In most of the speci- 

 mens that I have examined, the snout is studded with well defined horny tul)ercles which 

 apparently develop quite early in life. In the specimens from Kashmir under report the 

 snout is, however, perforated with a few fine mucous pores instead. It appears that the 

 tuberculate condition of the snout is a secondary sexual character of the males, but from 

 tlu' material before me it is not jiossible to give a derniite opinion. 



The colouration of the specimens in alcohol is uniformly reddish-brown with a slightly- 

 darker upper surface. The outer edges of the dorsal and the caudal fins are dusky. 



Ihslrihutioii: Labco diplostoiiius tKcurs in Kashmir (Type-locality), "along the Sind 

 hills and Himalayas, also in lirabmaputra in Assam" (Day). In regard to the li;ibitat and 

 the size of the .species in the Assamese waters McClelland (op. cil. p. 364) observed: "Tiie 

 Nepura of the .'\s.samese I found as low as Bishenath, where the current is slow, and the 

 bottom is .sandy; here its colour is deep blue on the back. It is small, and very rarely met 

 with in Lower Assam; Init above the rajjids Mr. Criffith says it is very connnon. and 

 attains a large size, and that the fins and tail arc dusky, the body below white, above 



