THE FISHES OF MALABAR. 215 



spotted with black, in two longitudinal rows, with a third in the front part between the other two. 

 The dark markings are much more visible in the months when the freshes are coming down. 



Common ; eaten by the Natives. 



Habitat — Malabar. 



2. Unbranched dorsal rays osseous, but entire. Lateral line ceasing abruptly. 

 Puntius vittatus. Plate XIII. Fig. 1. 

 Puntius vittatus, Day, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1865, p. 303. 



B. iii. D. |. P. 12. V. 9. A. f . C. 20. L. 1. 22. L. tr. f. 



Length of head §, of pectoral \, of base of dorsal \, of base of anal yj , of caudal f of total 

 length. Height of head \, of body \ of total length. 



Eyes — Diameter \ the length of head, f of a diameter from end of snout, 2 diameters apart. 



Fins — Pectoral commences under the subopercle : ventral two scales beyond its termination : 

 dorsal opposite the seventh scale of the lateral line : anal one scale beyond the end of the ventral. 

 Pectoral pointed. Anal with the last ray divided into two. Caudal deeply lobed, each lobe 

 pointed. Dorsal spines entire, in some specimens there is a very small one before the two others, 

 but this is not always the case. 



Scales — With four or more radiating lines. 



Lateral line — Consists of a single tube in each scale : it passes for about five rows along the 

 central fine and there ceases. 



Colours — Upper surface of body dusky green, abdomen silvery. Cheeks sometimes golden. 

 There are four black spots in the adult, one just before the dorsal, one under its posterior margin, 

 another at the base of the caudal, and the fourth at the base of the anal. The dorsal has a black 

 streak down it, and a black tip, with orange markings. In the immature the colours vary. When 

 the fish is about eight-tenths of an inch long, a vertical black stripe begins to show itself in the 

 posterior third of the dorsal fin, the tip of which also becomes edged with black, and there is 

 some irregular orange coloration about the fin. A black spot shows itself at the base of the caudal 

 and anal fins ; and in very young specimens the line of demarcation between the green of the back 

 and the silver of the abdomen is very apparent, and seems as if a white line passed from the eye 

 to the centre of the caudal. 



Earely grows to more than an inch and a half in length, and is the most common species 

 found in the paddy fields. It is eaten by the slave castes. 

 Hab itat — Malab ar . 



2. Unbranched dorsal rays osseous, entire .-the branched dorsal rays with filamentous prolongations. 



Puntius filamentosus. 



Leuciscus filamentosus, Cuv. & Vol. xvii. p. 96, pi. 492. 

 Leuciscus Mahecola, Cuv. & Vol. xvii. p. 305, pi. 502, {young.) 

 Systomus filamentosus, assimilis, et Maderaspatensls, Jerdon, Madras Journal, xv. 

 pp. 318, 319. 



CURROAH, Mai. 



B. iii. D. f . P. 17. V. 9. A. f . C. 15. L. 1. 21. L. tr. f. 



Length of head 1, of pectoral T 2 g, of caudal § , of base of dorsal rather above }, of base of 



