170 BULLETIN 188, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 

 PUNTIUS STOLICZKAE (Day) 



Danio stoliczkae Day, 1869, p. 621 (Burma). 



This is a small species heretofore known only from Burma. Its 

 status as a Thai fish rests on a specimen taken by the writer in the 

 Meyuam at Mesarieng, Western Thailand, January 23, 1933; on 25 

 specimens from the Mechem, a tributary of the Meping, Northern area, 

 taken by A. R. Buchanan of Chiengmai in October 1935, and forwarded 

 to the U. S. National Museum by H. G. Deignan; and five specimens 

 from the Sal win at Ta Fang, Western district, collected by Deignan 

 October 14, 1936. 



In Burma this species is credited with a length of 10 cm. The maxi- 

 mum length of the Thai specimens in hand is 5.5 cm. in a male from 

 the Salwin. Two females, 4.2 and 4.8 cm. long, from the same river 

 contain well-developed eggs. In the smallest specimens, 1.9 to 2.5 or 

 3 cm. long, the spot on the caudal peduncle shows a tendency to extend 

 toward the upper median line, and in some the spots of the two sides 

 almost meet. 



Through the courtesy of the Indian Museum in Calcutta, the U. S. 

 National Museum has received a specimen of Puntius stoliczkae from 

 Sandoway, Lower Burma ; this specimen is one of a lot referred to in 

 a paper by Dr. Sunder Lai Hora (1937f). The figure given by Ilora 

 is a great improvement over the one in Day's Fishes of India. The 

 Thai specimens agree with the Burmese example, exhibiting such 

 differences as represent individual variation in squamation and in size 

 and denticulation of the last simple dorsal ray. There is a short 

 vertical black blotch on the lateral line involving the third and fourth 

 scales, together with several scales above and below, and there is a 

 round black spot about the size of the eye on the lateral line just pos- 

 terior to the base of the anal fin ; the dorsal fin has a narrow black edge 

 and irregular black spots on the basal two-thirds of the raj's and mem- 

 branes. 



Puntius stoliczkae is very similar to P. ticto Hamilton from India 

 and may prove to be identical. The supposed differences may dis- 

 appear when sufficient material is available for study. Day distin- 

 guished stoliczkae from P. ticto by its possession of a lateral line com.- 

 plete instead of more or less incomplete, and 9 instead of 11 predorsal 

 scales. Hora (1037f, p. 330) has shown, however, that in P. stoliczkae 

 the lateral line is variable, and may be complete or limited to as few as 

 7 scales. Hora says "the most important difference between the two 

 species, however, lies in the number of the predorsal scales — 8 to 9 in 

 B. stoliczkae and 11 in B. ticto,''^ but Thai specimens have the predorsal 

 scales numbering 8, 9, or 10, with 8 the predominant number. 



