SYNBRANCIIID.K. 121 



with slime. The colour above is dark green, and below a dirty 

 pale red. On every part there are scattered small, round, black 

 spots, and short yellowish bars. Two pale parallel lines run for- 

 wards from the shoulder, to the eyes, where they join at an acute 

 angle, two others coming from the sides of the chest. Parallel 

 to the last there are two others on each side beneath the lateral 

 line. 



The specimen from India, preserved in the British Museum, is 

 dark green on the upper parts, and soiled white on the lower parts. 

 Three parallel wliitish lines run along the side from the head, two 

 of them under the lateral line ; the lowest is about 3 in. long, 

 and the middle one, which commences at the upper part of the eye, 

 is '2} in. long. Total length, 2.5-r2 in. Length of tail, 5-10 in. 



The long lines on the bod}' readily distinguish this genus and 

 species. 



Genus 48. OPHISTERNON, McCleUand. 



Unibranchapertura, Lacep. Unipertura. J. MiiUer. 

 Symbranchus, Cantor; Bleeker. 



Has all the characters of Monoptenis, except that it possesses 

 the four-fringed branchial arches. The cuticular border of the 

 partitioned gill-openings bounds a ti'ansversely oval oj^ening. No 

 air-sac under the skin of the occiput. No swim-bladder. 



210. Ophisteenon bengalensis, fig. 70. 



Ophisternon bengalensis, McClelL, Cede. Joiirn. v. 197, 220, t. 11, 



f. 1,2. 

 Symbranchus immaculatus. Cantor, Cat. MaL Fish, (adult); Jonrn. 



As. Soc. Ben;/, xviii. p. 1319 (young); Bleeker, Nat. Tijds. 11, 

 ^ ^ p. G9 (young). 

 Tetrabranchus immaculatus, Bleeker, Nat. Tyds. Lid. iii. p. 32 ; 



Mnran. et Symb. p. 57 (young). 



Cantor made a small mistake when he referred the Indian 

 Ophisternon henr/alensis of McClelland to the Symbranchus immacn- 

 lalus of Bloch's description and figure. The Synhranchus or Sym- 

 branchus immaculatus of Bloch is an inhabitant of South America, 

 and has^ as Bloch's figure shows, an oval gill-opening on the throat, 

 whereas, in the Indian fish, the two gill-openings, concealed under 

 the border of the arched cuticular collar, have interiorly a longitu- 

 dinal partition. Bloch evidently confounded the South American 

 and Indian fish. Ilis specimen no longer exists in the Berlin 

 Museum ; but a recent specimen from the Brazils is preserved 

 there under the name of S. immaculatus. As this is the species 

 which Bloch has figured and described, the name of immaculatus 

 must be retained for it, and the names used by McClelland given 



R 



