BV J. DOUGLAS OGILBY. 731 



triangular in the male, short, broad, and posteriorly emarginate 

 in the female, while in the Carp-Gudgeons (1 C arassiojosi) it is 

 oblong in both sexes, with the hinder border emarginate, but that 

 of the male is so much the longer that its lobes embrace the origin 

 of the anal fin. In some species, also, there is a marked prolonga- 

 tion of some of the fin-rays in the male fish. 



During the spawning season the cheeks in both sexes, but 

 more especially in the males, become to a greater or less extent 

 tumid, while the genital papilla of the female develops one or 

 moi-e series of small supplementary papillae, forming a fringe. 



These facts should be carefvilly borne in mind by anyone 

 tlescribing or identifying a species from a single individual. 



15 r e e d i n g. — I have been unable to find any account of the 

 Ijreeding habits of the Eleotrids, or the means employed, if any, 

 to ensure the safety of the eggs and newly hatched young and to 

 guard against hybridisation, but the fact that in a single small 

 pool many pairs of these fishes, belonging to three different 

 species, were simultaneously engaged in spawning, and that no 

 hybrid has eA^er been recognised, clearly suggests that nests of 

 some sort are formed for the reception of the eggs.* Where the 

 nests are situated and whether the ova when deposited are watched 

 OA'er by the parents must be left for future investigation to decide, 

 but there was no appearance of any such construction among the 

 weeds drawn ashore by the net. 



Appended is a sjaiopsis of the genera proposed in this paper : — 



i. Abdominal vertebra? more numerous than the caudal; sexes 



dissimilar in colour, similar in the shape of the genital 



papilla. 



A. Head deeper than wide ; mouth small; outer series of 



mandiV)ular teeth slightly enlarged; gill-openings narrow; 



six branchiostegals; genital papilla large; head partially 



scaly 



Carassiops, p. 732 



* Tliis is known to be the case with some at least of the allied marine 

 Gobies. 



