or.7 

 THE FISHES OF MALABAR. -"" 



the base of the dorsal fin, and along the sides to midway between the end of the pectoral 

 and the base of the dorsal : the spinous portion ends in a curved line from nearly the anterior 

 margin of the dorsal to the anterior margin of the anal fin. The spines are coarse, those most 

 posterior being more widely separated than the anterior ones : their divided roots are very 

 apparent. 



Lateral line — None visible. 



Colours-Greenish-grey above, white beneath; two undulating narrow bright green or yellow 

 bands pass from one eye to the other, and several more irregularly across the back ; the sides are 

 covered with round, oval, or irregularly-shaped blotches, surrounded by yellow or green bands, 

 which become whiter and broader towards the abdomen. Fins yellowish. Eyes hazel or yellow. 

 The coloration varies exceedingly, according to the pieces of water which the fish inhabits. 



Grows to six inches in length. 



Habitat— Seas, estuaries, and salt marshes of India and Malaysia. 



Ceayracion TESTUDINEUS. 

 Tetraodon testudineus, Linn. Syst. 1444 ; Cantor, Catal. p. 376 ; Bleeker, Atl. Icli. 



v. p. pi. 212, f. 3. 

 Paattiia, Mai. 



B. v. D. 10. P. 17. A. 10. C. 10. 



Length of head \, of pectoral \, of base of dorsal fa of base of anal fa of caudal \ of the 

 total length. Height of dorsal \, of anal nearly \ of the total length. 



Eyes— Border on the profile, and are rather nearer to the snout than to the gill openings. 

 Diameter \ of length of head, 3 diameters apart, 2 diameters from end of snout. 



Nostrils are situated slightly behind and above the anterior margin of the orbit : the apertures 

 are small, and the tentacle bifurcated. 



Fins-Dorsal commences in the posterior fourth of the body, its first ray is unbranched. Anal 

 arises below the termination of the dorsal. The pectoral is broad: the dorsal, caudal and anal 



are rounded. 



Spines— From the interorbital space to the caudal fin the fish is entirely covered by spines, 

 which are much longer, finer, and more crowded on the abdominal surface than on the back and 

 sides. A fine line of spines also passes from the anterior superior angle of the eye, around the 

 nostrils, to the mesial line of the head where it joins a similar fine from the opposite side, the two 

 conjoined are continued backwards to the centre of the interorbital space. There are no spines 

 on either jaws or at the axils of the pectorals. 



Colours-Upper surface of body deep grey, under surface dirty white, with nine longitudinal 

 stripes of black, which pass in a concave direction under the eye, round the mouth, and round 

 the pectoral fin. The back is marked with darker blotches anteriorly, and is chequered with black 

 in its posterior half and in that of the body : these blotches consist of black bands, surrounding 

 circular patches of white or light grey. Caudal fin chequered with black, which is the predo- 

 minant colour, but it also has round marks as on the body. Dorsal, anal, and pectoral dirty 

 white. Eye dirty yellow. . 



In a specimen not two inches in length the spines exist all over the body, as m the adult, but 

 the horizontal lines along the abdomen are absent, and the back and sides alone show the colora- 

 tion of the mature. 



Not common in Malabar. Captured to seven and a half inches in length. The Natives 



2 L 



