THE FISHES OF MALABAR. 209 



Fins — Pectoral situated in the lower fourth of body : dorsal arises midway between the snout 

 and the base of the caudal : the ventral rather more anteriorly : the anal half way between the 

 base of the ventral and the base of tho caudal. Dorsal rather square, its upper margin slightly 

 concave, and its two first undivided rays small, tho third half the length of tho fourth, which last 

 is strong, bony, serrated posteriorly in its upper half, and ending in a soft point : the last branched 

 ray is divided to its root. First three rays of anal undivided, the two first very thin, the third 

 moderately strong ; its last branched ray divided to its root. Caudal with a wide base, lobed in 

 its posterior half. 



Scales — Longest diameter vertical, with three or more striae radiating from their anterior 

 border towards their circumference. 



Lateral line — Curves downwards to opposite the end of the pectoral, from whence it proceeds 

 direct to the centre of the caudal. 



Colours — Back greenish with silvery reflections, -abdomen silvery. A dull diffused black 

 mark on either side of the tail, which is often more visible in preserved than in fresh speci- 

 mens. Cheeks golden. Ventral orange : the other fins grey, the dorsal and caudal margined with 

 a darker colour, and the anal stained with orange. In immature specimens a dark line exists 

 along each row of scales, but this becomes lost in the mature fish. 



Very common in rivers, and also found in paddy fields and ponds, it is likewise kept in tanks 

 in Hindu temples. During the monsoon time small ones are carried down to the mouths of the 

 rivers on the western coast. It grows to upwards of two feet in length, and is good eating. 



Habitat — Bombay and fresh waters of Malabar. 



Puntius pinnaueatus. Plate XV. Fig. 2. 

 Cyclocheilichthys pinnaueatus, Day, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1865, p. 300. 



B. hi. D. f. P. 17. V. 9. A. §. C. 21. L. 1. 29. L. tr. f . 



Length of head above \, of base of dorsal £-, of base of anal yy, of caudal \ of total length. 

 Height of body J, of head I of total length. 



Eyes — Situated in the anterior half of the head, their upper margins do not reach the profile : 

 diameter \ of length of head, 1 diameter from end of snout, upwards of 1 diameter apart. 



Profile rises considerably to commencement of the dorsal fin, from whence it sinks more 

 gradually to the caudal. Profile of abdomen not so convex as that of the back. Body strongly 

 compressed. 



Mouth directed forwards, the lower jaw covered by the upper when the two are closed. 

 Preorbital triangular, apex directed above. Two pairs of cirri, those on snout equal two-thirds the 

 length of the maxillary pair, which are nearly as long as the orbit. Nostrils situated nearer to 

 the orbit than to the snout : the posterior patent, divided by a membraneous valve from the 

 anterior, which is slightly tubular. 



Fins — Dorsal commences midway between the snout and base of caudal, and is slightly in 

 advance of the ventral : anal situated in the posterior fourth of the body : pectoral just reaches the 

 ventral, which does not extend quite so far as the anal. Dorsal nearly triangular, its third undivided 

 ray bony and serrated in its upper three-fourths : a row of scales along the base of the fin. Anal 

 undivided rays weak, lower margin of the fin concave : a row of scales along its base. Caudal 

 deeply lobed. 



Scales — Each with from eight to ten radiating lines passing from the anterior margin, and 

 diverging posteriorly. 



2 E 



