﻿220 GANGETic FISHES. Order V. 



The fish is longer in propo7-tion to its height than in the spe- 

 cies already described, very slightly compressed, smooth, green 

 above, and silver coloured below, and marked on the sides with 

 several stripes, consisting of black dotted spots. 



The head is level above. The mouth is horizontal. The 

 jaws are flattened, and protrude when open, the upper one be- 

 ing undivided, and rather the shortest, while the under ends 

 in a notch. There is a roughness on the palate and throat. 

 The nostrils have double apertures, and are small, and placed 

 in the middle between the eyes and jaw. The eyes are level 

 with the head, and have circular pupils. The gill-covers are 

 rounded behind, and conceal their membranes, the rays in 

 which cannot be distinctly observed. 



The back is convex, and slopes gradually with the head to 

 the end of the nose. The belly is arched. The tail is sudden- 

 ly contracted at the fin behind the vent, and at the hinder fin 

 of the back. The scales are large, imbricated, smooth-edged, 

 and easily displaced. 



Both dorsal fins slope backward. The foremost, standing 

 about the middle of the fish, has four prickles, of which the 

 three first are strong. The hinder fin has nine rays, of which 

 the first and second are undivided and united, the first being 

 short ; the others are branched, and the last split to the bot- 

 tom. The pectoral fins are half way up the sides, are shorter 

 than the head, and sharp above. Each has fifteen rays. The 

 ventral fins are only a little behind the pectorals, and are 

 shorter. Each has six rays, of which the first is undivided and 

 short. The fin behind the vent is near that organ, slopes back- 

 ward, and has twelve rays, of which the three first are undivid- 

 ed, and lengthen gradually from the first, which is short The 

 tail fin is nearly crescent-shaped, and the horns of equal 



