118 THE FISHES OF MALABAR. 



Mouth directed upwards, its gape wide : lower jaw the longest, with some barbels on it. 

 Each nostril has a small aperture near the orbit. 



T ee th — A band of villiform ones posteriorly and of curved conical ones externally. 



Fins — Dorsal and anal united with the caudal, and enveloped in a thick skin. Ventrals 



united. 



Colours — Head and back of a brownish ochre. Sides dullish red, becoming dirty whitish 

 with a red tinge on the abdomen. All the fins of a dirty reddish tint. 



Grows to one foot two inches in length. Is employed as food. 



Habitat — Seas and estuaries of India, Malaysia, and China. 



Genus TRYPAUCHEN, Cuv. and Vol, 



Branchiostegals, four. Body elongated, head moderately compressed, a deep cavity above opercle not 

 communicating with the branchial. Infraorbital bones do not articulate with the preopercle. Eyes 

 minute. One dorsal, which as well as the anal are continuous with the caudal. Ventrals united. Teeth 

 without canines. Scales minute. 



Trypauchen vagina. 



Gobius vagina, Bl. Schn. p. 73, no. 20. 

 Gobioides ruber, Ham. Buck. pp. 38, 365. 



Trypauchen vagina, Cuv. & Vol. xii. p. 153, pi. 351 ; Cantor, Catal. p. 190; Giinther, 

 Catal. iii. p. 137. 



B. iv. D. ^oSnr R25 - V -*- A -^Ve- 0. 13. 



Length of head £, of pectoral ^ of caudal £, of base of dorsal §, of base of anal | of total 

 length. Height of head j\, of body ^fc, of dorsal Jg, of anal ^, of ventral T ^, of the total length. 



Eyes— Apparently small black points, £ length of head from snout, and about the same 

 distance apart. 



Body — Elongated and compressed, the head rather wide. 



Mouth wide and oblique ; the lower jaw the longest, broad and shallow. Preopercle wide, 

 the angle rounded, its horizontal limb being one third longer than its vertical. Opercle wide, and 

 with radiated raised lines upon it : both it and the subopercle covered with narrow depressions, as 

 is also the upper surface of the head. 



Teeth — An external row of long curved teeth in each jaw, with a row of shorter ones inter- 

 nally. None on the palate or tongue. 



Fins — Pectoral and ventral arise on a line : dorsal opposite the posterior third of the pectoral. 

 Caudal produced and pointed. 



Scales minute. 



Lateral line central. 



Colours — Dirty white, with a slightly rosy tint, the back darker, almost of a dirty brown. 

 Dorsal and anal stained black in their external halves. Caudal dirty brownish black. Pectoral 

 and ventral colourless. 



Not rare at Cochin, where it enters the backwaters. It grows to six inches in length. 



Habitat — Seas and estuaries of India, Malaysia, and China. 



