28 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. 79 



PANGASIUS FOWLERI, new species 



Description. — Moderately elongate; body rather strongly com- 

 pressed, its width at origin of anal fin slightly more than one-third 

 its depth, depth 3.75 in standard length; caudal p)eduncle twice as 

 long as deep, its least depth equal to distance from eye to pectoral 

 spine; head covered with smooth skin, short, blunt, conical, its 

 length about 5 in standard length, its greatest width equal to its 

 depth behind eyes; snout obtusely rounded; mouth opening subter- 

 minal, slightly angular, distance between corners 2.5 times in length 

 of head; teeth in upper jaw in a wide, moderately curved, rather 

 broad band, in lower jaw in a more strongly curved band, vomerine 

 teeth in two well-separated transverse ovate patches, with the some- 

 what longer palatine patches perpendicular thereto; maxillary bar- 

 bels less than 0.5 length of head, occupying a deep slit that extends 

 from corner of mouth to beyond eye; mandibulary barbels about 

 0.5 length of maxillary; eye large, behind corner of mouth, shorter 

 than snout, its upper margin on a line from anterior nostril to 

 middle of caudal base, its diameter more than 3 in the strongly 

 convex interorbital space; ventral distance between eyes less than 

 dorsal. 



Fins: Dorsal rays ii,7; height of dorsal equal to head less snout, 

 its base 0.5 height; dorsal spine rather strong, 1.5 in head, its pos- 

 terior border strongly serrated, anterior border feebly serrated at 

 tip and granulated at base; adipose fin small, slender, equal to eye, 

 its attachment over the beginning of the last fourth of the anal; 

 caudal deeply emarginate, the lobes pointed; anal long, its rays 

 iv,38, length of anal base contained less than 3 times in standard 

 length, longest anal rays one-third head ; ventrals short, less than 0.5 

 head, not extending to anal; pectoral rays slightly longer than 

 dorsal, the spine equal to dorsal spine and similarly serrated but 

 more slender. 



Color : Back and top of head green ; sides and belly white ; a lateral 

 green band broadest at shoulder, and a broad oblique green band 

 from shoulder to a point on side above end of ventrals; dorsal and 

 caudal fins with dusky margin, other fins plain. 



Type. — A specimen 17.0 cm. to base of caudal, 19.5 cm. over all, 

 taken in the Lopburi River at Lopburi, Central Siam, October 22, 

 1926. Cat. No. 90309, U.S.N.M. 



Remarks. — The closest relative of this species appears to be P. 

 micronema Bleeker, known from Java, Sumatra, and probably Siam. 

 In that fish, however, the vomero-palatine teeth form a regular 

 crescent, the band of upper jaw teeth is less curved, the anal rays 

 number iv,24 to iv,30, the anal base is contained 3.6 to 4 times in 

 standard length, and the coloration is different. 



