492 PHTSOSTOMI. 



Habitat. — Sind, Ganges and Jumna ri\'ers in Northern India, Bengal, and Beliar, attaining 8 feet or more 

 in length. It is not uncommon at Delhi. It is only eaten by the lowest and poorest classes. It is said to lie 

 under stones when young. 



Genus, 25 — Gagata, Bleeker. 



Batasio,* pt. Blyth : Callomystax, Giinther. 



Branchiostegals five to seven. Gill-openings rather narroiv, the rjill-memhranes being confluent ivith the skin 

 of the isthmus. Thorax smooth. Upper stirface of the head with sharp longitudinal ridges, and covered by thin shin. 

 Eyes S'uhmtaneous. Snout overhanging the mouth. Nostrils close together, the anterior rounded, the posterior being 

 provided with a valve and usually with a barbel. Barbels eight, one nasal (.sometimes rudimentary), one maxillary, 

 and two mandibular pairs arising on a transverse line behind the chin, and usually with stiff bases. Villiform teeth in 

 jaws : palate edeiitulous. First dorsal ^vith one spine and six or seven rays : adipose of moderate length. Pectoral 

 spine strong. Ventral with six rays situated posterior to the dorsal fin. Anal ivith a moderate (11-13) number of 

 rays. Caudal forhed. Air-vessel in two rounded portions, each of tvhich is enclosed in an osseous cup. 



Geographical distribution. — Rivers of Sind, India, (except Madras) and Burma. 



SYNOPSIS OF SPECIES. 



1. Gagata cenia, D. \, A. 14-16. Sis barbels and a rudimentary nasal pair. Copper coloured, with dark 

 blotches and banded fins in the young : dull gray, with black fins in the adult. Indus, Jumna, and Ganges 

 rivers with their afilucnts, also Orissa, Assam, and Burma. 



2. Gagata itchheea, D. i, A. 12-14. Eight bai'bels. Copper coloured, with dark blotches. Deccan. 



3. Gagata batasio, D. \, A. 16. Eight barbels. Body with two dotted stripes. Testa. 



4. Gagata tengana, D. |, A. 14. Eight barbels. A dark blotch above the pectoral fin, another on the 

 crown of the head. Dorsal and caudal dotted, edges nearly black. Assam. 



1. Gagata cenia, Plate CXV, figs. 4 (adult), 5 (young). 



Pimelodus gagata. Ham. Buch. Fish. Ganges, pp. 197, .379, pi. 39, f. 65 ; Blocker, Bengal, p. 58 (adult). 

 Fimelodus 'cenia, Ham. Buch. 1. c. pp. 174, 370, pi. 21, f. 57 ; Bleeker, Beng. en Hind. p. 58 (young). 

 Gagata typus, Bleeker, Ned. Tyds. Dierk. 1863, p. 90 ; Day, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1869, p. 309. 

 Callomystax gagata, Giinther, Catal. v, p. 218. 

 Hemipimelodv.s cenia. Day, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1869, p. 308. 

 Jungla, Bengali : Cenia, Sind. : Nga-nan-joimg, Burmese. 



B. v-vi, D. i/0, P. i V. 6, A. 14-16 (^frf^), C. 19. 



Length of head 4| to 5, of caudal 4^ to 5, height of body 5 to 7 in the total length. Eyes — diameter 

 4 to 4f in the length of head (3 in the young), 1 to 1^ diameters from the end of snout, and 1 apart. Head 

 1/4 higher than wide : snout somewhat compressed, overhanging the mouth. The median longitudinal groove 

 on the head deep, and extends to the posterior end of the occipital jjrocess, which is narrow and almost touches 

 the basal bone of the doi-sal fin. Barbels — nasal iiidimentary : the maxillary pair reach to the base of the 

 pectoral spine, or a little more : the two mandibular pairs arise on a transverse line across the chin, the outer 

 are half as long as the head. Fins — the dorsal higher than the body, its two first rays being the longest, spine 

 moderately strong, as long as, to 1/4 longer than, the head :t it is serrated anteriorly in its upper fourth in the 

 youno-. Pectoral reaches to above the ventral, its spine is stronger, longer or shorter than that of the dorsal, it 

 Is stronsly denticulated internally, scri'ated externally in its outer fourth. Base of the adipose dorsal as long as 

 that of the rayed fin. Air-vessel — in two lateral portions, enclosed in bony capsules. Colours — dull gray, the 

 outer two-thirds of the pectoral, the outer halves of both dorsals, ventral and anal black : caudal whitish. The 

 young are of a yellowish bronze colour, becoming silvery on the abdomen : they have three dark bands over the 

 liead, and four more over the back, descending as low as the lateral-line. Caudal with a semilunar black band, 

 or a black blotch on each lobe : a dai-k mark across the dorsal fin. 



Some small fry from Darjeeling show the lower half of the front surface of the doi-sal spine rough. 



Habitat. — Rivers of Bengal and Orissa, the Jumna, Ganges, and Indus, also Burma. It attains a foot in 

 length. The specimen (fig. 4) was from Calcutta, where it is very common, (fig. 5) is from a Delhi example. 



2. Gagata itchkeea, Plate CXV, fig. 6. 



Phractoccphalus itchheea, Rykes, Trans. Zool. Soc. ii, p. 373, t. 67, f. 1. 



Bagrus itchheea, Bleeker, Beng. p. 56. 



Pimelodus itchkeea, Jerdon, M. J. L. and Science, 1849, p. 341. 



• Genns Batasio. Blyth, is said to comprise fishes with the barbels shorter than the head and teeth on the palate, examples: 

 Pimelodus latasio, II. B. (tlic author merely says of the teeth, that tliose '' in both jaws are croiviled''), P. tenc/ana, II. B. B. aj)inis, 

 Blyth, P. chandrmnara, H. B. and i'. rama, 11. B. The two lirst probably belong to Genus Gagata, the third to Macro7ies, and the last 

 two to Liocassis. 



f This alteration with age is very well shown in a series of these fishes, specimens from 2 to ^ inches long have the dorsal 

 spine from 7 to "r! in the total length : from 3 to 4 inches the spine is 6 to 7 : from 4 to 5 inches the spine is 5 to Sj times : from a to 

 inches the spine is 5 to 5 i times. 



