FRESH- WATER FISHES OF SI AM, OR THAILAND 165 



tinguislied from Girrhinus julUeni by its ventrals terminally edged 

 dark gray to diisky," also referred to as dark brown. There appear 

 to be no other distinctive characters. Tlie waters from which it is 

 listed are occupied also by 0. jullieni; and the presence of a narrow 

 dark margin to the ventral fins may come within the limits of variation 

 in the variable species jullieni. C margmipinnis has no barbels, and 

 Fowler reports specimens of C. jullieni without barbels. 

 The fish reaches a length of 17 cm. 



Genus PUNTIUS Hamilton 



Puntius Hamilton, Fishes . . . River Ganges, p. 310, 1822. (Type, Cyprinus 

 puntio Hamilton.) 



The classification of the Old World fishes falling within the wide 

 limits of the genus Barhus as proposed by Cuvier (1817), w^ith 

 Cyjpriniu^ harhus Linnaeus as its type, has been highly unsatisfactory 

 to systematic workers. After the elimination of a dozen or more per- 

 fectly distinct genera that Giinther, Day, and others placed in Barhus., 

 there remains a large group whose exact relations and nomenclature 

 await elucidation. 



For the present purposes, it is convenient to adopt for a section of 

 the Thailand barbs the generic name Puntius., first used by Hamilton 

 in 1822 for a number of Indian species. Bleeker (1863 (301), vol. 3, 

 p. 27) designated Hamilton's P. sophore as the type of Pwntius, and 

 proposed three subgenera, as follows, based on the number of barbels : 



Barhodes, 4 barbels ; type, Bar'bodes belinka Bleeker 

 Capoeta, 2 barbels; type, Capoeta amphibia Valenciennes 

 Puntius, no barbels ; type not indicated 



Bleeker's course does not appear to have been sound. The subgenus 

 Puntius should have represented the genus in sensu stricto' that is, it 

 should have agreed with the genotype in the special character (number 

 of barbels) on which the genus was divided. Inasmuch as sophore has 

 four barbels, the name Puntius was left without appropriate status ; 

 the fish called Borhodes^ with four barbels, should properly have been 

 designated Puntius. 



Under the International Rules of Zoological Nomenclature, the type 

 species of Puntius., in the absence of any indication or designation by 

 its author, was automatically determined by tautonymy (Article 30, 

 Id) and Hamilton's puntio must be considered the genotype ; Puntius 

 puntio., a small fish of Bengal and Burma, has no barbels. 



The puntiid fishes are the most numerous as to species and among 

 the most abundant as to individuals among the fresh-water fishes of 

 Thailand. It is hardly an exaggeration to state that in any haul of a 

 seine or trap in any part of the country these fishes are almost certain 

 t9 be represented. 



590087—45 12 



