340 Records of the Indian Museum. [Vol. Ill, 



outgrowths in the angles of the fins. The anterior root of the 

 dorsal fin is slightly nearer to the snout than the middle point in 

 the total length and is in advance of the anterior root of the ventral 

 fin, which is slightly behind the middle point. The outer free 

 margin of the dorsal is concave outward ; the pectoral fin in length 

 is contained i^ times in the interval between the anterior roots of 

 the pectoral and ventral fins ; the ventral fin is contained il 

 to i| times in the interval between the anterior roots of the 

 ventral and anal fins, and the anal fin about i;;^ times in the interval 

 between the anterior roots of the anal and caudal fins. (In each 

 of these the length of the fin is measured as it lies contracted 

 alongside the body length.) In the dorsal fin the spine is inti- 

 mately joined with the first ray, so much so that the total number 

 appears to be lo. The first ray though articulated is not branched, 

 while the rest of the rays are both articulated and branched. 

 The spine of the anal fin is also intimately joined with the first ray; 

 thus the total number in the fins appears to be 6 and not 7 till 

 the spine is separated out. Like that of the dorsal the first anal 

 ray is articulated but not branched, but the rest are both articu- 

 lated and branched. The caudal fin is deeply forked — more than 

 I of its total length. 



Shape. — Bod}' broader above than below. The dorsal profile 

 is round and sloping in front of the dorsal fin, the slope increasing 

 gradually further forward ; behind the dorsal fin it is only slightly 

 sloping. The ventral profile is almost a straight line and the 

 abdomen is transversely rounded. 



Lateral line is complete. It is almost straight from the root 

 of the caudal fin to below the dorsal fin, from which point it 

 slightly follows the curvature of the upper profile; it appears 

 to terminate in the upper corner of the gill-opening. From this 

 point again widely separated larger spots (openings of muciferous 

 glands) are observed in two series, one curving up the eye and 

 the other rounding below, meeting in front of the nasal openings 



Air-bladder is an elongated narrow tube lying on the upper 

 part of the gut, and in length is only ^ the length of the gut. 



Scales very small and deciduous ; all over the body except on 

 the head. 



Colour. — The snout was reddish at the time of capture but 

 has lost its colour in spirit. The outer rostral barbels are dark 

 brown, the rest are white. Dorsal and caudal fins are striped 

 with broad black or dark brown bands on yellowish white ground ; 

 the dorsal with 2 to 3 cross-bands and the caudal with 3 to 4 wavy 

 bands. The other fins, viz., pectoral ventral and anal, are not at 

 all striped but are of one uniform colour which is paler yellowish 

 white ; as is also the ventral (lower) surface of the body ; the dorsal 

 side is deeper and darker, and further variegated by irregular 

 elliptical loops of brownish black ; these loops send down broad 

 brownish black bands on each side, but all these bands stop short 

 of the ventral surface and sometimes interlace with each other. 

 Just below the suborbital groove there is a half-moon-shaped area 



