92 



have become deep black dots, of which one series can be 

 traced over the gill-opening, and a short way along the 

 side, in the course of the lateral line; another row runs 

 from the angle of the mouth over the branchial membrane, 

 and there are a few pores under the jaw. 



Length 32-5 inches. To anus about 15-3 inches. To 

 gill-opening 3-6 inches. 



H.^B. India. 



are of a dark neutral tint speckled with yellow. We have 

 seen no specimens corresponding with this drawing. 

 Slropltidoii punctatum and .S7. lUeratnm of Mc Clelland 

 have their dorsals commencing nearer the head than in 

 (/racilis, vermiciihita, or tile. 



MUR.ENA VICKMICDLAT.^. 



MUR^NA GRACILIS. 



Two examples of this fish in the British Museum accord 

 well with drawing 303 in Hardwicke's collection. 



Nasal teeth subulate and acute, in two rows ; those of 

 the outer row very small, and situated at the bases of the 

 inner row, which are taller and stouter. Three subulate 

 teeth on the mesial line of the disk, and two rows of short, 

 conical, tapering acute vomerine teeth, set alternately. 

 Palatine teeth in two rows ; those of the outer row about 

 nineteen or twenty in number, short, erect, compressed ; 

 the inner row consisting of about ten taller, slender, 

 slightly recurved and acute teeth. About nineteen rather 

 acute lateral mandibular teeth are arranged in an even, 

 crowded series, with two rows at the end of the jaw; the 

 outer row being composed of teeth smaller than the lateral 

 ones; and the inner row of about six on each limb, a 

 little taller and stouter than the nasal ones, and in- 

 creasing gradually in height as they recede from the sym- 

 physis. 



This is a slender species, with a rather small mouth, and 

 the under jaw somewhat shorter than the upper one. 

 Several Indian species have similar mouths. The snout 

 is obtuse, the profile rather hollow at the eye, the hind 

 head full and convex, and the tail considerably com- 

 pressed, the body only moderately so. The dorsal com- 

 mences over, or a very little before, the gill-opening. 

 The anus is placed just before the middle. The colour 

 of the specimens in spirits is brownish, with pale round 

 dots, not so big as the head of the smallest-sized pin, scat- 

 tered over the body and fins, and one of them has also a 

 few paler blotches, about the size of a very small pea. 



Length, total . . . 11-25 100 



„ to anus . . 5-86 49 



„ to gill-opening 1-35 12 



The specimens were brought from India by General 

 Hardwicke, and his drawing appears, from the style of its 

 execution, seems to have been made by one of Hamilton 

 Buchanan's artists. 



Hab. India. 



Another drawing in General Hardwicke's collection (No. 

 308 under figure) is marked " M. H. B. Octr. 3, 18, M. 

 tile bairn," and is doubtless a rejiresentation of the M. tile 

 of Hamilton Buchanan. It is a compressed and rather 

 deep-bodied species, with the reticulations of the skin 

 stronger than usual ; hence they are noticed in the charac- 

 ter of the species given in the Gangetic fishes. The 

 dorsal commences before the gill-opening, and the anus is 

 a little behind the middle. The fins are rather high, and 



Miirana. Icon. Hiudw. ined. .310. 



Marghial nasal teeth in two series, so closely situated as 

 to look like one. Outer row composed of twelve or four- 

 teen very short acute teeth ; inner row forming a semicircle, 

 at the end of the jaw, of conico-subulate very acute teeth ; 

 the tooth on each side of the symphysis smaller than the 

 rest. Three subulate teeth on the mesial line of the nasal 

 disk ; and about twenty-two short, stoutish but acute vo- 

 merine teeth, set alternately a little to the right or left, so 

 as to make two irregular rows. Two rows of palatine 

 teeth ; those of the outer row, which does not reach to the 

 corner of the mouth, nineteen in number, closely set, short, 

 even, compressed and moderately acute ; inner row con- 

 sisting of nine taller, subulate, and very acute teeth, set 

 nKjre widely, but not extending beyond two-thirds of the 

 length of the outer row. Each limb of the mandible is 

 armed by about twenty-four teeth, the lateral ones disposed 

 in an even series : at the end of the jaw there are two 

 rows, the outer one composed of numerous low teeth, and 

 the inner one of taller and more widely .set teeth ; but this 

 part of the jaw having been injured in both specimens, 

 their exact number cannot be ascertained. 



This fish is slightly compressed anteriorly, but be- 

 comes considerably more so in the tail, which has an ob- 

 tuse lip. The snout is blunt, and a little longer than the 

 lower jaw ; the nose horizontal, with a concavity in the 

 profile over the eye, and a sudden rise in the back of the 

 head and nape. There is also much fullness in the throat. 

 The dorsal which commences over the gill-opening is low 

 anteriorly, and highest in the tail, but is sufficiently con- 

 spicuous throughout. The anus is placed about the 

 thirty-second part of the whole length before the middle of 

 the fish. 



In colour and markings this species has some resem- 

 blance to M. meleagris, but the spots are smaller. The 

 general tint is between dark hair-brown and wood-brown, 

 studded with little grey specks of angular, round, oblong, 

 conjugated or crescentic forms, mixed with others so mi- 

 nute as to be scarcely perceptible to the naked eye. The 

 throat and fore part of the belly are of a livid white colour, 

 without sjiots, but towards the vent the white is faintly 

 mottled with pale gray. 



A specimen of this Muraina which was bequeathed by 

 General Hardwicke to the British Museum agrees with 

 M. fpacilis in its dentition, and differs from it chiefly in 

 being thicker about the throat and head, tapering more in 

 the tail. The patterns of the spots are also diff"erent. It 

 may, however, be that species better fed and grown to a 

 greater size. I am not altogether convinced that this 

 MurceiHi and (/racilis are distinct from Buchanan's tile,' 



