374 ACANTHOPTERTGII. 



Length of head from 3| to 4, of caudal 45 to 4}, height of body 2| to 2f in the total leng-th. Eyes — 

 rliameter 2f to 3 in length of head, 1/2 to 3/4 of a diameter from end of snont, and 1 apart. Preorbital and 

 lower edge of preopercle serrated. Maxilla reaches to below the front ncstril. Profile very slightly concave 

 over orbits : snout obtuse. Fins — dorsal fin commences midway between end of snout and base of first ray, its 

 spines increasing in length to the last, which equals the postorbital length of the head, and is 2/3 as 

 high as the soft dorsal which is longest in its middle. Pectoral as long as the head. The ventral ray reaches 

 to the posterior extremity of the anal. Caudal sUghtly emarginate. Scales — ctenoid, about 19 rows between 

 first dorsal spine and the snout, they are but sHghtly extended over the soft portion of the anal fins 

 and form a short sheath for the spines. Lateral-line — present. Colours — of a dull greenish, becoming 

 lighter along the abdomen : a dark, sometimes black, baud from the eye along the side to the lower half of the 

 base of the caudal fin. A dark band in the upper thu-d of the dorsal fin, and another on the back 

 along the base of that fin : anal banded similarly to the dorsal, and hkewiso with a dark band along the bases 

 of its soft portion. Caudal sometimes with a black spiot at its base, whilst its last third is rather dark, 

 occasionally with two or three transverse bands. 



Out of 20 specimens seven had 18, the remainder 17 dorsal spines : of the anal spines, five had 20, 

 ten had 19, three had 18, and two had 17 ; those captured nearest the sea had, as a rule, the most spines. 



Habitat. — The Brahmapootra from Upper Assam at Debrooghur to the Hooghly at Calcutta. It is 

 termed " Chuna kholisha at Goalpara," (H. B. MSS.). The Trichopodus sola, H. B. Pishes of Ganges, p. 120, 

 appeal's to be a variety of this species, and is termed " Jjillc sonrjtah and Icalah at Goalpara," (H. B. MSS.) Out 

 of 20 specimens the largest is 1'8 inches in length. 



2. Trichogaster labiosus, Plate LXXIX, fig. 4. 



B. V, D. V, P- 10, V. 1, A. i^s^ C. 15, L. 1. 30, L. tr. 5-G/12. 



Length of head 4j, of caudal 4^, height of body 2| to 3^ in the total length. Etjes — diameter 3i in 

 length of head, 1 diameter front end of snout, and \\ apart. Preorbital denticulated. Preopercle very slightly 

 rounded at its angle, its lower limb rather strongly serrated : sub-opercle when serrated very slightly so. 

 Maxilla reaches to below the anterior nostril. Lips very thick and covered with papillae (as in Labeo). 

 Teeth — present in the jaws. Fins — dorsal spines increase in length to the last, which is 2/5 of that of the head, 

 soft dorsal jaointed, its third to fifth rays being elongated, and from two to three times as long as the last spine. 

 Anal commences below the base of the pectoral, its soft portion elongated, but not to so great an extent as the 

 soft dorsal. Caudal wedge-shaped, the central rays being- the longest. Scales — a few over the base 

 of the anterior anal spines, increasing in number posteriorly, whilst the soft portion of the fin is densely scaled : 

 fewer scales on soft dorsal. Colours — greenish superiorly, becoming lighter beneath, from eight to ten 

 oljliquely vertical dark bars on the sides. A light yellowish red band proceeds from the eye across the lower 

 jaw behind the lip, whilst posteriorly it has a dark edge. Fins dark, outer edge of anal yellowish-red. 



Ilabitat. — Burma, foiind in the Irrawaddi at Rangoon, and certainly as high as Mandalay. The specimen 

 figured (Hfe-size) is from Rangoon. 



3. Trichogaster fasciatus, Plate LXXVIII, fig. 6. 



Triclinrjaster fasciatus, Bl. Schn. p. 1G4, t. 36 ; Giinther, Catal. iii, p. 387 ; Day, Proc. Zool. Soc. 

 18(39, p. 520. 



Trichopodus colisa, lejeus, and cotra, Ham. Buch. Fish. Ganges, pp. 117, 118, 119, 120, pi. 15, f. 40; 

 Taylor, Brews. Edin. Journ. Sc. 1831, v. pp. 34, 37. 



Colisa vxilcjaris, bejeus, cotra, and Povticeriana, Cuv. and Yal. vii, pp. 362, 365, 366, 370, pis. 196, 205. 



Polyacanthus fasciatus, Cuv. and Val. vii, p. 369. 



Colisa vulgaris, Swainson, Fishes, ii, p. 235 ; Bleeker, Yerh. Bat. Gen. xxv, Beng. en Hind. p. 94. 



Colisa fasciata and Ponticeriana, Jei'don, M. J. L. and Sc. 1848, p. 145. 



Kussuah and Coilia, Ooriah ; Pommdi, Tel. ; Kiin-fjee, Punj. ; Pich-ru, Sind. ; Koh-lee-hona, Assam. ; 

 Nga-pm-thick-kouk and Nga-phyin-thaleb, Burm. 



B. V, D. VW, P- 10, V. 1, A. f j:i^-, C. 15, L. 1. 29-31, L. tr. -^h^, Ctec. pyl. 2. 



Length of head 3f to 4^, of caudal 4^ to 5^, height of body 21 to 3i in the total length. Eyes— 

 diameter 3j to 3^ in length of head, 3/4 to 1 diameter from end of snout, and 1| to If apart. Preorbital 

 denticulated in the young, only its lower edge in the middle aged, whilst in the adults it may be entire : lower 

 limb of preopercle serrated, and sometimes a few serratures on the sub-opercle. Fins — dorsal spines of 

 moderate strength, the last the longest and equal to the postorbital length of the head, the soft portion in some 

 is rounded, in others more pointed and even 1/4 longer than the last spine, soft anal resembles the soft dorsal : 

 caudal notched or cut square. Scales — there are few on the vertical fins of Assam specimens, more on those 

 from Calcutta or Ganjam. Colours — superiorly greenish, becoming dirty white below : a green spot on either 

 gill cover : eyes red : fourteen or more orange bands descend obliquely downwards and backwards from the 

 back to the abdomen : ventral fin edged with red and variegated with black, green, and white : dorsal and 

 caudal fins spotted with orange. Immature specimens with a black spot at the root of the caudal fin. 



