ART. 7 NEW SIAMESE FISHES — SMITH 27 



occipital process whose base is 0.5 its length; snout very broad, 

 rather pointed when viewed from side, evenly rounded, slightly over- 

 hanging the horizontal mouth, whose width at corners is 4 times 

 diameter of eye ; teeth in jaws villiform, in a well curved band with 

 a median division in each jaw; teeth on vomer in a single quadrate 

 patch whose length is nearly 3 times its antero-posterior diameter, 

 elongate patches of palatine teeth slightly separated from the vomer- 

 ine and forming therewith a regular crescentic band; eye small, 

 partly below the corner of the mouth, nearly 7 in head, 4.5 in the 

 convex superior interorbital space, and 4 in the inferior interorbital 

 space; maxillary barbel arising in a deep groove above corner of 

 mouth and extending to opercle, its length less than 0.5 head, mandib- 

 ulary barbel shorter, 2 times diameter of eye. 



Fins: Dorsal formula ii,7; dorsal spine serrated on posterior edge, 

 its length about equal to head less snout, its filamentous prolongation 

 as long as spine; length of first branched ray 2 times base of fin; 

 adipose fin about 2 times as high as long, its origin about over the 

 beginning of the second half of the anal base ; caudal deeply forked ; 

 anal rays iv,26, the longest branched rays more than 0,5 base of fin, 

 which is contained 4 times in standard length ; ventrals inserted far 

 behind dorsal, shorter than pectorals, the first ray produced and 

 reaching well beyond anal origin; pectoral spine strongly serrated 

 on posterior edge, somewhat shorter than dorsal, the longest branched 

 ray 1.5 head. 



Color : Dark green above, white below ; dorsal and caudal dusky, 

 other fins plain, anterior anal rays with a black tip. 



Type. — The type, 16.3 cm. standard length, 20.0 cm. over all, was 

 taken November 26, 1923, in Klong Ban Poh, off Lopburi River, 

 near Ayuthia, Central Siam. Cat. No. 90308, U.S.N.M. 



Remarks. — This species is easily recognized by its extremely broad, 

 depressed head, its comparatively short form, its small eye, its 

 short barbels, its dentition, etc. Its nearest relative appears to be 

 P. fangasius (Hamilton Buchanan), known from India, Siam, and 

 Java. In that species, however, the body is more elongate, the head 

 narrower, the barbels are longer (the maxillary extending to base 

 of pectorals), the profile from snout to dorsal fin is much less steep, 

 the anal base is comparatively longer, and the vomerine teeth form 

 two separate patches except in full-grown specimens. In the plates 

 of P. pangasius published by both Day (Fishes of India) and 

 Bleeker (Atlas Ichthyologique), the vomerine teeth are in two dis- 

 tinct patches. 



This species is named for Mr. Barton A. Bean, assistant curator in 

 charge of the division of fishes in the United States National Museum. 



