in the Fish Gallery of the Indian Museum. 67 



moderate depths in Indian seas, is interesting because 

 it is only known to occur elsewhere off the Atlantic 

 coast of America. 



Suborder PHYSOSTOMI [Cases 60-73]. 



The Ruhu, the Tengra and the Hilsa are good familiar 

 types of this suborder. The rays of the fins, with the 

 exception sometimes of the first dorsal and first pectoral 

 rays, are not ossified. The ventral fins, when they are 

 present, are placed behind the pectoral fins — usually a 

 good long way behind them. The air-bladder, when 

 present, is usually connected with the gullet, or with 

 some part of the intestinal canal, by a pneumatic duct. 

 (See the air-bladder and pneumatic duct of an eel in 

 Case 10). 



The fishes of this suborder are grouped into the 

 following 14 families. 



Family I. Slluvklce [Cases 60-63]. 



The Cat-fishes are a very large family, the Indian 

 species alone numbering nearly 120. For the most part 

 they inhabit fresh waters, but a few live in the sea — 

 generally in the neighbourhood of estuaries, and never 

 far from the coast. Many of them are used as food, 

 except by Mahomedans. The Cat-fishes are so-called 

 from the barbels, which are attached to the lips 

 and jaws, and somewhat resemble in appearance the 

 " whiskers ' of a cat. These barbels are organs of 

 touch, for Cat-fishes usually live in muddy water where 

 the sense of sight is not of much use : for this reason 

 also, their eyes are usually small. The skin is scaleless. 

 In most of the species the first spine of the dorsal fin 



