FRESH-AVATER FISHES OF SIAM, OR THAILAND 59 



in troughs, hatched with a mortality of 20 percent owing to sediment 

 and fungus. Thus, while artificial hatching is practicable, it does not 

 seem to be superior to hatching under normal conditions and should 

 probably be resorted to only when batches of eggs have been left 

 without the care of a male fish. 



The fish is in considerable demand, and large quantities are caught 

 for market with seines and other apparatus. Swamps yield the largest 

 numbers. As the fish bears transportation rather well, rice barges are 

 sometimes used for sending fish to Bangkok, especially from swamps 

 whose fishing privileges are under private lease. A barge filled with 

 water instead of rice may carry 3,000 or more large fish for several 

 hundred miles. 



The flesh is of good flavor but full of small bones. In order to over- 

 come the bones the flesh is often chopped fine and then made into balls 

 and cooked with curry. 



The Thai call this fish pla krai and pla Tiang fan; hrai means to 

 move slowly but naturally, hang pan means broad tail. The Bengali 

 colloquial name for the fish is chitala, adopted as the specific name by 

 Hamilton. 



NOTOPTERUS NOTOPTERUS (Pallas) 



Gymnotus notopterus Pall.\s, 1769, pt. 7, p. 40, pi. 6, fig. 2 (Indian Ocean). 



Notopterns kapirat Bleekek, 1865 (356), p. 176 (Siam). — Petees, 1868, p. 273 

 (Siam).— SAin^AGE, 1881, p. 164 (Siam).— Kaboll, 1882, p. 184 (Siam).— 

 Sauvage, 1883b, p. 152 (Menam Cliao Phya). 



Notopterus notopterus Webee and de Beaufort, 1913, vol. 2, p. 9 (Siam). — 

 ViPULTA, 1923, p. 226 ( Siam ) .— Hora, 1923b, p. 175 (Siam) ; 1924a, p. 482 

 (Tale Sap).— Smith, 1930, p. 56 (Siam) ; 1933b, p. 245, pi. 9, fig. 2- (Siam).— 

 Fowler, 1934a, p. 85 (Bangkok, Chiengmai) ; 1934b, p. 335 (Bangkok) ; 1935a, 

 p. 90 (Bangkok) ; 1937, p. 130 (Bangkok, Paknam, Tachin) ; 1939, p. 40 

 (Huey Yang). 



The range of this species includes Java, Sumatra, India, Burma, 

 Malaya, and Thailand. It is generally distributed over Central Thai- 

 land, in rivers, swamps, and canals. It is known also from the Tapi 

 River above Bandon and from Klong Sok, an upper tributary of the 

 west branch of that river. Farther south in Peninsular Thailand the 

 fish has been reported from the inner lake of the Tale Sap. In South- 

 eastern Thailand it has been collected in the Chantabun River and 

 in a tributary thereof on Kao Sabap. In Northern Thailand the fish 

 appears to be uncommon; among the few records is one small speci- 

 men from the Mengeh, a tributary of the Meping. 



Wliile in India this fish may reach a length of 60 cm. or more, many 

 specimens measured in Thailand have been under 40 cm., thus agreeing 

 with the maximum size of 35 cm. given by Bleeker and by Weber and 

 de Beaufort for the Indo-Australian Archipelago. Of a dozen adult 

 fish taken at random from a large catch in a trap at Hang Kraben, 



