17. MEGALOPS. 471 



2. Elops lacerta. 

 Ctw. ^f Vol xix. p. 381, pi. 575. 



B. 25-26. D. 20. A. 17. 

 Scales larger than in the first species. Top of dorsal and anal 

 fins blackish. {Val.) 

 Senegal. 



17. MEGALOPS. 

 Megalops, ( Commers.) Lacvp, v. p. 289. 

 Body oblong, compressed; abdomen flat. Scales largo, adliereiit; 

 lateral line distinct. A narrow osseous lamella, attached to the 

 maudibulary symphysis, between the mandibles. Snout obtusely 

 conical; mouth anterior, lower jaw prominent; intermaxillary short, 

 maxillary forming the lateral part of the mouth. Bands of villiform 

 teeth in the jaws, on the vomer, palatine and pterygoid bones, on 

 the tongue, and on the base of the skuU. Dorsal fin opposite to, or 

 immediately behind, the ventrals ; anal rather longer than dorsal. 

 Gill-mcmbrancs entirely separate, with niynerous branchiostegals. 

 Pseudobranchia) none. Pyloric appendages numerous. 

 Tropical seas, entering fresh waters. 



Although I have taken great pains to refer the numerous ex- 

 amples in the British Museum to the species recently proposed by 

 Dr. Bleeker (of which we possess typical examples), the majority of 

 them either proved to be intermediate forms, or exhibited characters 

 which would render necessary the establishing of many more such 

 species. However, I convinced myself that the Indian Jlegahps 

 shows as many slight variations as any other species of a similarly 

 ■wide geographical range ; and experience has shown the failure of 

 aU these attempts to introduce such variations permanently into 

 science as species. 



1. Megalops cjrprinoides. 

 Clupea cyprinoides, £roi(.ss. Dec. Ichthijol. i. tab. 9 (not synon.); 



Bonncit. Encijcl. Meth. Ichth. p. 187, pi. 7o. fig. 314 (cop. JJroms.) ; 



Lacvp. V. pi. 13. fig. 3 ; Forster, Descr. Anim. ed. Licht. p. 2'JG. 

 Megalops tilamentosus, Laccp. v. pp. 289, 290, tab. 13. fig. 3 ; Uleek. 



Ned. Tychchr. Dierk. iii. 18GG, p. 286. 

 Kundinga, Russell, ii. p. 81, pi. 203. 



C}-prinodon cuudinga, Ham. Buck. Fish. Gang. pp. 2ol, .383. 

 Megalops setipinnis, lii'cJiards. Ann. Nat. Hist. xi. p. 493 ; and Jcht/i. 



Chin. p. 310. 



curtitilis, Iiichards. Ichth. Chin. p. 310. 



indiciis, Ciuk ^- Val. xix. p. 388, pi. 542 ; Bheh. TWh. Bat. 



Gen. xxiv. Chirac, p. 15; Ktier, Novara, Fisch. p. 339. 

 Elops cimdinga, Cant. Mai. Fish. p. 289. 

 Megalops niacvoplithalnius, Bleek. I. c. 

 Megalops macropterus, Bleek. Ned. Ti/dschr. Ditrk. iii. 1866, y. 284. 



kundinga, Bleek. I. c. p. 288. 



cyprinoides, Bleek. 1. c. p. 290. 



oligolopis, Bleek. 1. c. p. 292. 



Elops apalike. Day, Fish. Malah. p. 228. 



B. 23-26. D. 17-20. A. 24-27. L. lat. 37-42. Yert. 28/29. 



Ventral fin inserted below the origin of the dorsal ; maxillarv ex- 



