THE PISHES OP MALABAR. 211 



With '2 cirri (Capoeta, Ouv. & Val.) 

 1. Unbranched dorsal rays osseous but entire. 



PUNTIUS PABEAH. Plate VII. Fiji'. 3. 



? Puntius amphibius, Jerdon, Madras Journal, xv. p. 315 (not Cuv. & Val.) 

 Puntius paerah, Day, Proc. Zool. Soc. 18G5, p. 301. 

 Paebah perlee, Mai. 



B. iii. D. §. P. 15. V. 8. A. §. C. 19. L. 1. 25. L. fcr. |. 



Length of head \. of base of dorsal -J-, of base of anal T ] ^, of pectoral \, of caudal \ of 

 total length. Height of head \, of body \, of dorsal ^, of anal \ of total length. 



Eyes — Diameter nearly -J of length of head, almost 1^ diameters apart, and 1 diameter from 

 end of snout. 



Profile curves gradually to the dorsal, descends along its base, and from its posterior extremity 

 proceeds almost horizontally to the caudal. The height of the body is four-elevenths of its length, 

 excluding the caudal fin. 



One pair of thin cirri to maxillaa which are equal to two-thirds of the length of the orbit. 

 Opercle, width four-sevenths of its height, subopercle two-fifths as high as long. Nostrils nearer 

 to the orbit than to the end of the snout, the posterior patent, and divided by a valve from the 

 anterior which is slightly tubular. 



Fins —Dorsal commences midway between the snout and base of the caudal, and just over the 

 ventral : its bony ray strong, smooth, and with a soft termination : its length equals the distance 

 from the centre of orbit to the posterior extremity of opercle : the upper surface of fin rather concave, 

 its two posterior rays elongated. The anal arises behind the posterior margin of the dorsal, midway 

 between the orbit and the end of the caudal, its external margin concave. Caudal deeply lobed. 

 The pectoral does not quite reach the ventral : nor the ventral the anal, by the width of two scales. 



Scales — In regular horizontal rows, but in the one above the lateral line the fourth scale is 

 rather large, and two rows commence behind it. Each scale has generally from three to four 

 diverging lines, but in some there are more, especially along the abdominal surface. 



Lateral fine — Follows curve of the back in upper third of body. 



Colours — Upper surface of back dark silvery green, divided from a silvery abdomen by a dark 

 bluish line. Cheeks golden red. Pectoral, ventral and anal tinged with yellow. Dorsal and 

 caudal dusky. A diffused black spot on the lateral line extending from the twentieth to twenty- 

 second scale. Eyes golden. 



Common in the rivers and inundated paddy fields of Malabar. 



Habitat — Fresh waters of Malabar. 



Puntius perlee. 



B. iii. D. f. P. 15. V. 10. A. f . C. 19. L. 1. 24. L. tr. f. 



Length of head § , of base of dorsal ^, of base of anal j 1 ^, of pectoral ^, of caudal \ of the 

 total length. Height of head \, of body \, of dorsal \, of anal J of the total length. 



Eyes — Diameter \ of length of head, | of a diameter from end of snout, TJ.- diameters apart. 



Body high and compressed, a considerable rise from the snout to the first dorsal, from whence 

 it sinks to the base of the caudal. Abdominal profile not so convex as that of the back. 

 The height of the body is one half its length, excluding the caudal fin. 



2 e 2 



