NO. 3 



TELEOSTEAN FISHES — GOSLINE 



family Cyprinidae, the caudal count is more variable and may best be 

 shown in tabular form (table i). 



Only one aspect of the data in table i will be discussed here. All 

 the fishes listed except Cobitis and Misgurnus have a caudal outline 

 that varies from emarginate to deeply forked. It is, then, the round- 



Table I. — Branched caudal rays in certain cyprinoid fishes 



Number of Region USNM 



Species branched rays No. 



f ^ 



12 13 14 15 16 17 



Catostomidae x^ 



Cyprinidae x^ 



Homalopteridae 



Bhavania australis 2 India 165107 



Balitoria brucei 3 Burma 44808 



Hemlmyzon jormosanus I 4 Formosa 161711 



Gyrinocheilidae 



Gyrinocheilus aymonicri .... 8 China 1 1 77 18 



Cobitidae 

 Cobitinae 



Cobitis taenia i 4 Turkey 143864 



Misgurnus angnillicaudatus . . i 8 23 3 i China 85944, 



130354 

 Acanthophthalmus kuhlii .... 4 Aquarium 



specimens 

 Botiinae 



Botia sp g China 89178, 



89179 

 Nemachilinae 

 Nemachilus (Barbatula) sp.. . 9 China 91713 



Gastromyzonidae 

 Crossostominae 



Glaniopsis hanitschi 2 Borneo 1 13325 



Gastromyzoninae 



Bcaujortia pingi 6 China 1 177 18 



Gastromyzon borneensis 6 Borneo 1 13324 



^ AH catostomids examined had 16 branched caudal rays; see text. 

 2 All cyprinids examined had 17 branched caudal rays; see text. 



tailed members of the cyprinoid group that have the lowest (and also 

 apparently the most varial)le) number of caudal rays. (Some attempt 

 was made to determine whether the number of forked caudal rays in 

 Misgurnus varied with size, but no such ontogenetic change was 

 found in specimens between 41 and 150 mm. in standard length.) 



The question remains as to why the caudal count should vary in the 

 fork-tailed cyprinoids. An attempt was made to get at this problem 

 by comparing the cyprinids (17 branched rays) with the catostomids 



