Jordan and Starks: Fishes from Ceylon. 445 



Anterior profile of head straight from occiput to tip of rather sharp 

 snout; that of mandible straight to symphysis, steeper than dorsal 

 profile of head. Eye large, three times in head, with a narrow mem- 

 branous eyelid. Maxillary reaching to below front of pupil, its ex- 

 posed part equal in length to the diameter of the eye. Posterior point 

 of mandible a trifle behind maxillary. Ascending limb of premaxillary 

 reaching to above posterior edge of eye. Width of maxillary 

 a little greater than narrowest part of pre-orbital, equal to space from 

 eye to pre-opercular ridge. Depth of cheek below eye equal to diam- 

 eter of eye, a little greater than length of snout. Longest gill-rakers 

 a trifle more than half diameter of pupil. Two small spines over front 

 of eye, the supra-orbital ridge finely serrated behind them. Lower 

 limb of pre-opercle more coarsely serrated. Two canines at symphysis 

 of premaxillary, one on either side of them, these very much smaller, 

 but a little larger than the single row of even sharp teeth posterior to 

 them. In the mandible a single row of teeth, beginning with a very 

 small canine at each side of the symphysis, then a couple of large 

 canines, the posterior teeth growing smaller, but still larger than the 

 teeth at side of premaxillary. The upper teeth at symphysis fit into 

 a notch left between lower teeth. Dr. Day attributes villiform teeth 

 to the lower jaw inside of the canines. In one specimen the skin of 

 the mouth comes directly to the base of the canines. When, however, 

 the skin is removed, the bone of the lower jaw feels (with a needle 

 point) slightly rough. Two small, slender processes on shoulder- 

 girdle, extending forward over gill-fringes. 



Dorsal spines slender and flexible, the second equal in length to the 

 length of the head behind the front of the pupil, or to the length of the 

 pectoral. Second anal spine a little stouter and equal in length to the 

 snout from the middle of the eye. Ventral fins reaching two-thirds of 

 the distance to anal; their length equal to that of the second anal spine. 



Fine scales cover the body, except on a tiiangular space, the apex 

 of which is in front of the pectoral and the base from the front of the 

 anal forward. Head entirely naked, the naked area including the 

 backward extending occipital spine. 



Color dusky above, silvery on sides and below, sometimes covered 

 with fine dark points. In one specimen irregular blotches form wavy 

 lines above the lateral line. Axil black, the color more or less con- 

 tinuous with a dusky or black blotch on shoulder-girdle just under 

 opercle. Membrane of dorsal slightly dusky towards tips of spines 

 and rays; other fins without color. 



