ICHTIIYOLOGV. 237 



rcfloctctl, tliickly stmlded with tiibcicles. Trctli mme. Orroiiisli lirown along the 

 back ; dull wliite below. A black spot above the base of the ])ectoi'al till. 

 The Andauians and Nicobars. 



M. C^RTILEO-MACUL.VTnS, LaCL'p. 



B. vi.; D. 4t; P. 17; V. i ; A. f ; C. 14. 



Upper lip thick, placed obliquely, so as not to form part of tlie end of the snout. 

 Teeth minute. Silvery, lighter below. A bhu'lc spot above the base of the pectoral 

 tin. Grows to lA foot or more. 



The Andamans. 



The ' m!iffi7/s,' ' which Juvenal alludes to as soiuctimcs subsorviiig the vonseance 

 of an injured husband, probably applies to a fish of a very different family, and to one 

 well provided with spines. 



Familij Aulostomateidae. 



The anterior bones of the skull produced, forming a long tube, and liaviug a small 

 mouth in front. 



FlSTULAKIA, Limuciif!. 



No scales. Caudal forked, Avith ono or two of its central rays excessively 

 elongated and filiform. 



F. SEREATA, CuV. 



B. vii. ; D. 1315; V. l;5; Y. i ; A. 141.5; C. lOllO. 



A seiTated ridge from the eye to the nostril. The caudal filament nearly a third 

 the length of the head and body. 



The Andamans, where l)ay says it affects muddy localities. 



FamUij Ophiocephalidse. 



Branehiostegals 5. Pseudobranchitc absent. Gills 4. Body elongated. Head 

 depressed, with somewhat plate-like scales. A cavity exists above and accessory to 

 the true gill chamber. A single long, spineless, dorsal, and a similar but shorter 

 anal. Teeth in jaws, vomer, and palatines. Air-vessel present. 



The Ophiocephali or Snake-heads are remarkable for their longevity out of water, 

 a privilege doubtless due to their amphibious mode of respiration, as, in addition to the 

 gills which they possess in common with other fishes, they have a cavity for the 

 reception of air, communicating with the bronchial chamber. Day remarks, "Judging 

 from their habits in an aciuarium, some of the Ophiocephali prefer dirty to clean 

 water, jjerhaps for the purpose of concealment. When they have stirred up all the 

 sediment and exuded a quantity of mucus, they appear to be delighted, their colours 

 become much more vivid and they ascend to their favorite resort amongst the vegeta- 

 tion just beneath the surface of the water. As soon as clean water is given them, 

 they become excited, as if they imagined the time had arrived when they should 

 change their abode." They are all of them useful as food. Dr. Mason remarks, 

 " Two or three species of Ophiocephalus are very common. They are fresh-water 

 fish, ap])ropriately named, for the head is very much like a snake's head, and they are 

 remarkable for the power of making their way from one pool to another on land. 

 One species, it is said, usually lives in hollow logs and holes, never in streams, and 

 often a long time in the jungle without water. It appears to be either the same 

 species, or a nearly related one to the liirachmg of Boutan, whicli the natives believe 

 falls from heaven, from the cii-cumstance of its being found after rain far from the 

 water. Some of the Karens regard these with a superstitious awe, and abstain from 

 eating them. They have a legend that they were formerly men, changed into fish 



- ' ' Xecat hie f erro ; secat ille cruentis 

 Verberibus ; quosdam ma'chos et muijihs intrat." — Sat. VI. 310. 



