﻿28 GANGETic FISHES. Order II. 



greatest on the back. The pectoral fins are placed low, and 

 are very short and rounded ; as is also the case with the tail fin. 

 The number of rays in the fins cannot, in general, be ascer- 

 tained with exactness, owing to their slenderness, and to the 

 thickness of the skin. 



That part of the generic character given by La Cepede, 

 [Hist, des Poissons, Tome II. p. 283,) which states the tail fin 

 to be distinct from those of the back and vent, is objection- 

 able, as in one of the two species, which he describes, the three 

 fins are united. 



1st Species. — Macrognathus armatus. Plate XXXVII. 



Fig. 6. 



A macrognathus with fins of the tail, vent, and back united ; 

 Macrognathus armatus, La Cepede, Hist, des Poissons^ Vol. II. 

 p. 286. 



Ophidium simack, Walbaumii, editio Artedii. 



This species, owing to the length of the body, and to its 

 being less compressed than the others, approaches nearest the 

 Murcenas. It is often found two feet in length, and is esteem- 

 ed the best for eating. It is found in the rivers of Bengal, both 

 salt and fresh. 



The colour of this fish is green, variegated with many black 

 spots and dots. In such as that from which the drawing was 

 taken, being young, a winding longitudinal stripe runs back 

 from the snout along the lateral line, uniting the spots into 

 irregular transverse bands. The breast and back fins are spot- 

 ted with black. 



The head is half oval, and flat above. The mouth is larger, 

 and the snout shorter than in the other species. The lips are 

 thick, with scarcely any bone ; the inferior one is very blunt. 

 In both^'a^s, which do not protrude in opening, are many 

 sharp teeth, nearly equal in size, and closely imbricated. The 



