54 ACANTHOPTERYGII. 



caudal forked. Scales — a row along the bases of the dorsal and anal fins : two rows on the suborbitals. Laterril- 

 line — interrupted. Colours — silverj' with a narrow lateral band : second spine of the dorsal bright orange, the 

 membrane between it and the third black : a dark longitudinal band along either caudal lobe. 



As in other species of this genus, the comparative leng-th of the highest dorsal spine varies with age. 

 and in examining the 6 specimens in the British Museum, I find the following proportions exist. 



Total length 2^ inches : of body 2 inches : highest dorsal spine 7/lOof an inch or nearly l/3of length of body. 

 2^- • 2 • 8/10 2i 



- 03 



Q 2 ■ 9J_ . Q/10 9 



3tV ,, ■■ ,. 2J^ „ : „ „ 8/10 



:4 



3 

 93 



-4 



But the comparative length of the same spine in my specimen from the Andamans is still greater : 



Total length I^'l inches : of body l/jj inches : highest dorsal spine y<L or nearly 1/2 of body. 

 Habitat. — Sea at the Andamans and Batavia : the specimen which is figured was taken at the Andamans, 

 and is nearly 2 inches in length. 



8. Ambassis Dayi, Plate XV, fig. 7. 



? Amhassis Malaharicus, (C. & V.) Jerdon, Madr. Journ. Lit. & Science, 1849, No. xv, p. 140. 



Ambassis iialua, Day, Fish. Malabar, p. 15, (not H. Buch.) 



Ambassis Bayi, Blceker, Nat. Verb. d. Holland. Maats. d. Weten. 3de Verz. Dcel II, No. 2, 1874, p. 95. 



B. vi, D.yo^TT, P- 16, V. 1/5, A. yV, C. 16, L. 1. 30, L. tr. 4/—. 



Length of head 2/7, of caudal about 4/17, height of body l/S of the total leng-th. Eijes — diameter 1/4 to 

 2/9 of length of head, 3/4 to 1 diameter from end of snout, and also apart. Snout pointed, lower jaw the longer, 

 cleft not very oblique. The maxilla reaches to below the middle of the orbit. Preorbital serrated along its lower 

 border, and one spine at its anterior-superior angle. Vertical limb of preopercle with some very minute 

 serrations in the largest specimen, its lower limb serrated along both edges : interopercle serrated in its posterior 

 half : subopercle entire. One spine at the posterior-superior angle of the orbit. Teeth — villiform, with a rather 

 stronger outer row in the upper jaw. Fins — the following is the comparative height of the second dorsal spine 

 to that of the body in two specimens : — 



No. 1, total length, I^-q inches : without caudal fin lyL inches: dorsal spine -^ inches or 3f in length of body. 

 9 7 f,-*- 1_2_ 4.1 



The ventral reaches two-thirds of the distance to the base of the anal : the second and third anal spines 

 of about equal length even in the young, but the second is the stronger : caudal deeply forked. Lateral-line — 

 continuous. Colours — silvery glossed with purple, a broad lateral burnished band : interspinous membrane 

 between the second and third dorsal spines dark : second dorsal, anal, and caudal stained dark at their edges. 



The serrated interopercle and pointed snout at once show its distinction from A. Commersonii and 

 A. nalua. 



This may be Jerdon's A. Malahaririis (C. V.) of which he observes — " Height not a third of its length. 

 Fin rays D. 7/^, A. f &c. 5 inches long ;" but as this short definition is equally applicable to three or four other 

 species found in Malabar, and the ifpe appears to have been lost, it becomes impossible to be certain. Bleeker 

 l.c. observed on this species difiei-ing from A. nalua. 



Sabitat. — Malabar coast of India, attaining at least 7 inches in length. 



9. Amhassis gymnocephalus, Plate XV, fig. 6. 



Ltitjamis gymnocephalus, Lacep. iii, t. 23, f. 3, and iv, p. 216. 



Priopis argyrozona, (K. & v. H.) Cuv. & Val. vi, p. 503. 



Ambassis JJussumieri, Cuv. and Val. ii, p. 181, vi, p. 503, and ix, p. 431 ; Quoy and Gaim. Voy. Astrol. 

 Poiss. p. 651, pi. i, f. 3 ; Bleeker, Perc. p. 30 ; Giinther, Catal. i, p. 225 ; IJay, Fish. ]\Ialabar, p. 16 ; Kner, 

 No vara Fische, p. 41. 



Chanda Dussumieri, Cantor, Catal. p. 6. 



Ambassis Vachelli, Peters, Mon. bcr. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. 1868, p. 255, (not Richards.) 



Ambassis gymnocephalus, Bleeker, Ambassis, p. 99. 



Chandee, Ooriah, 



B. vi, D. 7/^„VTy. P- 15, V. 1/5, A. ■^\-^, C. 17, L. 1. 27-29, L. tr. 3/8. 



Length of head 2/9 to 1/4, of caudal 2/7 to 1/4, height of body 2/7 of the total length. J?(/e«— diameter 

 dependant on age, in the j-oung 2/5, in the adult nearly 1/3 of the length of the head, 1/2 a diameter from the end 

 of snout, and also apart. Lower jaw the longer. The maxilla reaches to below the front edge of the orbit. 

 Preorbital with six or seven denticulations directed downwards and backwards on anterior- inferior edge, and a 

 few serrations on its posterior : tlie double edge on the inferior limb of the preopercle finely serrated, its vertical 

 limb entire. Sub- and inter-opercles entire. Two or three strong spines directed backwards at the posterior- 

 superior angle of the orbit, and another rather larger posterior to them, occasionally a small spine on the 

 shoulder just before the commencement of the lateral line. Teeth — a single row of fine ones in jaws, vomer, and 

 palate : a band along the centre of the tongue. Fins — dorsal spines strong, the second being nearly or quite as 

 high as the third, or in a few cases a little longer, the longest is generally two-thirds the height of the body below 

 it, and the second is vei-y minutely striated on its posterior edge, as is also the spine of the second dorsal, the other 

 spines are striated aU across : the ventral reaches about two-thirds of the distance to the anal : the third anal 



