FRESH-WATER FISHES OF SIAM, OR THAILAND 341 



Kiver, and various other streams in the Peninsula. There are no rec- 

 ords for Northern, Eastern, and Southeastern Thailand. 



Local adult specimens have been 11 to 15.5 cm. long. The maximum 

 length in the East Indies is 20 cm. When Prince Vipulya (1923) 

 ascribed to this fish in the Bangkok region a weight of "anything up to 

 3 pounds" he must have confused it with another member of this genus. 

 Of eight specimens taken in the Bangpakong River July 1, 1923, the 

 largest was a female, 15 cm. long, containing ripe eggs 1 mm. in 

 diameter. 



Specimens from the Tapi River near Bandon taken September 30, 

 1923, were peculiar in having a black edge to the upper caudal lobe, a 

 broad black margin on the pectorals, and a dusky anal, while of two 

 specimens from the Pasak River August 20, 1923, one showed a con- 

 spicuous black posterior border on the pectorals and the other a 

 strongly marked black edge on the upper part of the lower caudal 

 lobe. The published descriptions and Bleeker's colored plate of this 

 species give no black on any of the fins. 



It is eaten extensively as fresh fish and it is also preserved for market 

 by smoking on spits. As a food it is one of the most highly esteemed 

 of the fresh-water fishes of Thailand. 



This species shares with others of the genus the vernacular name of 

 'pla neua on (soft-flesh fish) . 



KRYPTOPTERUS BICIRRHIS (Cuvier and Valenciennes) 



Sihirus hicirrhis Cuviee and Valenciennes, 1839, vol. 14, p. 367 (Java). 

 Cnjptopterus biciri'is von Martens, 1876, p. 399 (Siam). 

 Cryptopterus Mcirrhis Weber and ue Beaufort, 1918, vol. 2, p. 217 (Siam). 

 Kryptopterus hicirrhis Fowler, 1935a, p. 96 (Bangkok). — Fowler, 1937, p. 136 

 (Bangkok). 



The centers of abundance of this species are the rivers of Java, 

 Sumatra, and Borneo. There are only a few records for Thailand, all 

 for the southern part of the great central plain. Further collecting 

 will undoubtedly extend the local range, but it is much less numerous 

 than several other members of the genus in the localities where it is 

 already known. 



It is a comparatively small species. Two specimens from the Pasek 

 River at Dha Luang taken August 20, 1923, were 9.5 cm. long ; 1 from 

 the Nakon Nayok River, August 10, 1929, was 11.3 cm. long; and 26 

 from the Menam Chao Phya (as reported by Fowler) were 7.8 to 14.6 

 cm. long. 



On the Nakon Nayok a local name for the fish is pla hrayoh (win- 

 dowpane fish), in allusion to the translucent area on the side above the 

 pectoral fin marking the position of the SAvim bladder. 



590087 — 45 23 



