THE FRESH-WATER FISHES OF SIAM, OR 



THAILAND ' 



By Hugh M. Smitk 



INTRODUCTION 



PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE CATALOG 



The main purpose of this work is to make known, by means of a 

 comprehensive and not too technical account, the nature, extent, and 

 richness of the fish fauna inhabiting the fresh waters of the ancient 

 Kingdom of Siam ; to describe the relationships of the various groups ; 

 and to indicate what further collecting of specimens is necessary or 

 likely to prove profitable scientifically. It is the intention to take 

 cognizance herein of every species of fresh-water fish known from or 

 ascribed to Thailand. In cases of reasonable doubt as to the validity 

 of species described from the country or as to the accuracy of local 

 records or citations, it has been thought proper to admit them to the 

 catalog and trust to future observations to establish the facts. 



If one accepts the definition that a fresh-water fish lives entirely in 

 fresh water in both the young and the adult stages, and never descends 

 to the sea (Hora, 1937a), it necessarily follows that according to its 

 title this catalog cannot strictly cover those fishes that (1) normally 

 inhabit brackish, estuarine, or river waters and may sometimes stray 



1 In view of the invariable use of the name Siam in previous ichthyological literature of 

 the country, it is inevitable that this designation occurs frequently in the present catalog, 

 which is based on investigations made and publications issued before the name Thailand 

 was oflicially adopted in 193ft. It should be understood that all references to Siam in the 

 text, in the cited literature, and in the specific names of fishes apply to Thailand. 



* Dr. Hugh McCormick Smith, formerly United States Commissioner of Fisheries 

 (1913-1922), Adviser in Fisheries to the Siamese Government (1923-1935), and after 

 1922 Associate Curator in Zoology in the United States National Museum, died on Septem- 

 ber 28, 1941. Although work on this monograph of Siamese fresh-water fishes had occupied 

 all his time at the National Museum since 1935, Dr. Smith did not quite complete the 

 manuscript before his death. The final work necessary to put it in shape for editing and 

 publication, such as the arrangement of families and the selection and supervision 

 of all the drawings by Mrs. Alice C. Mullen and Mrs. Aime M. Awl, was done by 

 Dr. Leonard P. Scliultz, curator of fishes, United States National Museum. When in the 

 course of this revision, type numbers were required and paratype numbers were found, Dr. 

 Schultz added such numbers to the manuscript. Miss Gladys 0. Visel and Dr. Schultz have 

 added all the references for genera and the original references for sp>ecies, since these 

 were not included in Dr. Smith's manuscript. The gazetteer of Thai localities (p. 16) 

 was prepared expressly for this catalog by Herbert G. Deignan, associate curator of birds, 

 United States National Museum. For accounts of Dr. Smith's life and accomplishments 

 In the fields of ichthyology and fisheries, see Copeia, Nov. 21, 1941, and the Journal of the 

 Washington Academy of Sciences, Dec. 15, 1941. — Editoe. 



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