﻿318 GANGETic FISHES. Order V. 



the Ami, a stagnant river full of weeds, had the belly stained 

 black, while the fins of the back and tail were yellow, with 

 blackish ends ; yet I am persuaded that the fishes which I ob- 

 served in the three provinces belonged to the same species. 



It has no tendrils. On each gill-cover is a bent line of dots. 



The dorsal fin contains ten rays, of which the first is short 

 and slender, and closely united to the second, which is strong, 

 undivided, and indented behind ; the others are branched. The 

 pectoral fins are much smaller than the head, and each contains 

 about ten rays. Each ventral fin contains nine rays, of which 

 the first and last are undivided. The fin behind the vent has 

 eight rays, of which the three first are undivided, and closely 

 united, the second being longer than the first, and shorter than 

 the third : the others are branched. The fin of the tail con- 

 tains nineteen distinct rays, besides short compacted ones. 



53d Species. — Cyprinus puntio. 



An almost opaque Cyprinus of the Puntius kind, with a black 

 ring round the end of the tail, and a black spot at the roots of 

 the dorsal and anal fins. 



This fish I found in the ponds and ditches of the southern 

 parts of Bengal, where it is called Pungti ; and it was brought 

 to me as the young of the SOth species, or Catla ; but although 

 it resembles the Catla in form, and although several young 

 fishes differ very much in colour from the adults, yet the dif- 

 ferences in the number of rays, which support the fins of the 

 two animals, renders it highly improbable that they should be- 

 long to the same species. 



The form of the Puntio is very similar to that of the Catla. 

 The back and tail are of a greenish-brown colour, almost dia- 

 phanous. The abdomen and gill-covers are silvery white. 

 On each side is a diffuse stripe of greenish gold colour. The 



