Tin: fishes of malabar. 61 



POLYNEMUS UBONEMUS, CllV. & Yal. iii. p. 385. 



B. vii. D. 8 1-nk^. P. 20, v. V. \. A. rf-fa. C. 17. L. 1. 02-05. L. tr. T V Cseoo- 



pyloric appendages numerous. 



Length of head -§, of pectoral \, of caudal \, of base of first dorsal \, of base of second dorsid \ , 

 of base of anal -| of the total length. Height of head }, of body ^, of first dorsal J, of second 

 dorsal ^, of ventral |, of anal ^ of the total length. 



Ey es — External third on either side covered by an adipose lid ; diameter ^ of length of 

 head, -| diameter from end of snout ; 1 diameter apart. 



Body of a rather elliptical form, more prominent below than above. 



Mouth with an oblique cleft, the posterior extremity of maxilla extending to one quarter of a 

 diameter behind the orbit : lower jaw shortest, snout overhanging, and advanced beyond both jaws. 

 Preopercle, its posterior limb nearly vertical, slightly convex in its upper portion and with its 

 anode produced : moderately strong serratures, with a prominent tooth above the angle. Lower 

 limb short, horizontal and entire. Opercle rounded posteriorly. Interorbital space rather convex. 

 Snout produced, diaphanous. Openings of nostrils oval, rather large, approximating : anterior on 

 a lower level than the posterior one. 



Teeth — Villiform, in about five rows in the upper, and four in the lower jaw. Villiform teeth 

 on vomer in a transversely oval spot, and in a row on the palate. 



Fins — First dorsal commences slightly behind the origin of the pectoral : ventral arises 

 opposite centre of pectoral. Second dorsal commences rather nearer to the base of caudal, than it 

 does to the posterior margin of the orbit. Anal begins opposite fourth dorsal ray. First dorsal 

 triano-ular, spines weak and prolonged beyond the membrane which is also emarginate : first spine 

 very short, second the longest, from which they rapidly decrease to the last. Second dorsal 

 trapezoid, the distance between it and the posterior extremity of the first dorsal equals that from 

 the end of the snout to the posterior margin of the orbit: *he distance from the posterior 

 extremity of second dorsal to base of caudal equals the distance from the commencement of first 

 dorsal to that of the second dorsal. Pectoral rather rounded, with five articulated fila- 

 ments arising a short distance below and in front of its base, the first of which is the longest 

 and extends as far as the commencement of the anal fin, the inferior one is the shortest only 

 extending as far as the end of the pectoral. Ventral spine weak, a long wide free scale at its 

 base : distance from commencement of fin to base of anal nearly equals the space from the 

 anterior margin of the orbit to the posterior extremity of opercle. Anal trapezoid, first spine 

 small, second nearly half the length of first ray which is the longest : this fin extends the same 

 distance posteriorly beyond the end of the second dorsal, as it arises behind its origin. Caudal 

 with long rather crescentic shaped pointed lobes, which sometimes end in filamentous prolonga- 

 tions, the lowest is usually the longest. 



Scales — Ctenoid extending over body and head, but none on snout, they cover the lower jaw, 

 and exposed portion of maxilla as well as the base of the caudal, and there are a few between the 

 spines of the first dorsal fins. A few finer ones over pectoral, second dorsal, and anal fins. 



Lateral line — Nearly straight, in single tubes along the centre of each scale. At the base of 

 the caudal it curves downwards over the internal ray of lower lobe and is thus continued to the 

 posterior extremity of the fin. 



Colours — Back greyish green : abdomen silvery white, with a very indistinct stripe along the 

 centre of each line of abdominal scales. First dorsal stained with black, and its anterior portion 



