3i0 ACANTHOPTERTGII. 



3. Mastacembelus pancalus, Plate LXXII, fig. 4. 



Macrorinathus pancalus. Ham. Bucli. Fish. Ganges, pp. 30, 364, pi. 22, f. 7. 



Mastacembelus imnealiis, Cut. and Yal. viii, p. 455 ; Bleeker, Bang, en Hind. p. 98 ; Gunther, Catal. iii, 

 p. 541. 



Mastacemlielus pundatus, Cuv. and Val. viii, p. 4G3. 



Chcn.da-la, Giircliee and Gro-age, Punj. : Ju-gar, N. W. Prov. : rar-'pa-raul, Tel. : Turi and Bahru, 

 Ooriali : Tu-rah, Assam. 



B. vi, D. 24-26 I 30-42, P. 19, A. 3 | 31-46, C. 12. 



Length of head 5 to 5i, of pectoral 12, of caudal 13, height of body 6| to 7 in the total length. 

 Eyes — small, situated before the middle of the length of the head, 1 diameter apart. Snout trilobed at its 

 extremity. The greatest width of the head equals 1/2 of the length of the postorbital portion of the head : its 

 height equals half its length excluding the snout. The maxilla reaches to nearly beneath the nostril. A strong 

 denticulation at the angle of the preopercle, followed by from three to five more along its lower border : a 

 preorbital spine. Fins — dorsal spines short, increasing in length posteriorly, they commence over the middle of 

 the pectoral fin. Soft dorsal and anal separated from the caudal by a notch, the last fin rounded. Second 

 pre-anal spine longest and strongest. Scales — 18 rows between lateral-line and commencement of dorsal rays. 

 Colours — greenish-olive along the back, becoming yellowish beneath, having many yellowish-white spots over 

 the sides. The posterior portion of the body is often vertically striped. Soft dorsal, pectoral, caudal, and anal 

 yellow, with numerous black spots. 



In upper Assam the body is more banded, and I found D. 26 | 42, A. 3 | 46, in one specimen. 

 M. pancalus is so similar to, tliough smaller than, the 31. zehrhms, that 1 cannot resist the belief that they may 

 be merely varieties of one species. 



This fish is termed " Oangr-qovgtl at Bhagalpur and Patnicola : Gocld at Konggspur : Pangkal, Calcutta," 

 Ham. Buch. MSS. 



Hahltat. — Deltas of large rivers of India and localities near the sea. I have taken it near where the 

 Ganges debouches fi-om the Himalayas (Hurdwar), also at Jubbulpore, but have not seen it on the Coromandel 

 coast south of the Kistna river. The one figured (life-size) is from Calcutta. It attains at least 7 inches in 

 length. 



4. Mastacembelus armatus, Plate LXXIII, fig. 2. 

 Macrognathus armatus, Lacep. ii, p. 286 ; Ham. Buch. Fish. Ganges, pp. 28, 364, pi. 37, f. 6. 

 Mastacembelus armatus, Cuv. and Val. viii, p. 456, pi. 24U ; Sykes, T. Z. Soc. ii, p. 350, pi. 60, f. 2 ; 



Giinther, Catal. iii, p. 542 ; Day, Fish. Malabar, p. 153. 



Mastacembelus Poiiticeriamis, Cuv. and Val. viii, p. 460 ; Jerdon, Madr. J. L. and Sc. 1848, p. 147. 



Mastacemhelus marmoratus, Cuv. and Val. viii, p. 461 ; Jerdon, 1. c. ]>. 147. 



? Macrognathus caudatus, McClell. C. J. N. H. ii, p. 586. 



Macrognathus tmdidatus et Eam!ltoni;, McClell. C. J. N. H. iv, pp. 393, 398, pi. 22, f. 1. 



Bahm, Vuhm., and Gro-age, Punj. and Sind : Eul-aral and ,Sha-ta-rah, Tam. : Miidi-bom-mi-day, or " Old 

 nhjnchohdella," Tel.: Bahm, Bummi, and Gonti, Ooviah and Beng. : Nga-muicaij-duh-uga, Burm. ; "Thorny- 

 backed eel." 



B. vi, D. 32-39 I 74-90, P. 23, A. 3 | 75-88. 



Length of head from 6s in the young to 7^ in the adult, of caudal 18 to 20, height of body 11 to 12 in 

 the total length. Eyes — one diameter "apart. The height of the head equals rather above 1/2 its length beliind 

 the angle of the mouth : its width half of its postorbital length. The width of the body alters with age, in the 

 young it is often only 2/3 of its height, but in the adult its width equals its height. The distance from the eye 

 to the end of the snout equals about 1/3 of the length of the head. Snout trilobed at its anterior extremity. 

 The maxilla reaches to below the front edge of the eye. Angle of preopercle with two or three strong denticu- 

 lations : a preorbital spine. Fins — the dorsal spines commence over the noddle of the pectoral fin, the posterior , 

 being the longest. Vertical fins confluent. In some young from the Coromandel coast the caudal fin is rather 

 pointed {M. Ponticeriamis, C.V.). Sccdes — about 30 rows between the lateral-line and the base of the first 

 dorsal ray. Colours — this fisli is usually of a rich brown colour, becoming lighter on the abdomen. In some a 

 blackish band goes through the eye and is continued in an undulating course along the upper half of the side : 

 above this band tliere are sometimes a row of black spots along the base of the soft dorsal fin, added to which 

 there may be short black bands over the back in the situation of the dorsal spines. This is the most common 

 ibrm in Calcutta, Assam, and along the Himalayas. Pectoral usually spotted, and the dorsal and anal have 

 usually bands or spots. 



Some are marbled all over the sides as shown in Sykes' figure. 



The variety, M. marmoratus, is by far the handsomest species, and found in Mysore and the Bowany river. 

 It is of a general purplish colour, marbled all over with darker. The head has wide dark bands broken up into 

 angular or irregularly shaped spots by narrow white lines. Pectoral with its basal third purple, its middle 

 third with narrow yellow lines, and its outer third j-ellow. 



The variety, M. Ponticerianus, was established for the reception of some small specimens with rather 

 pointi.d tails from Pondichei'ry. It is the common variety at Madras. 



