1916.] B.SuNDARA Ray: Freshwater Fish of Madras. 293 
Breeding Habits.—'There is a wide difference between the 
Indian representatives of the two genera in spawning habits. 4H. 
melanostigma as stated above has the remarkable habit of carry- 
ing the extruded cluster of eggs suspended from a cord attached 
to the genital opening of the female, probably till they are 
hatched. Species of Panchax however show no such parental care, 
and according to the only observer Thomas,' who has recorded 
oviposition in this genus, Panchax (parvus ?) extrudes a single egg 
at a time which is soon deposited. The eggs of both genera, how- 
ever, are adhesive and demersal and are very similar in structure. 
In addition there are a number of minor differences which 
separate H. melanostigma from species of Panchax. From all this it 
is clear that Tate Regan’s division of the genus Haplochilus of 
Gunther and Day is amply justified and quite natural and neces- 
sary. ‘The diagnostic characters of the two genera and a key to the 
Indian species may be drawn up as follows :— 
Genus Panchax. 
Praemaxillae flat, elongate and protracticle, a deep transverse 
fold on the snout, mouth wide, vomerine teeth and pseudobranchiz 
present, gillmembranes not united, pectoral fins placed low, and 
scales with concentric and radiating strie. 
A. With a prolonged ventral ray— 
Spotted with red ee ee 
Body with vertical dark bands or blotches— 
B2o 24 scales one. lines <. as ... lineatum. 
29 to 30 scales on L. line ... ci Sse Ie 
B. No prolonged ventral ray— 
Numerous vomerine teeth ; greenish or olive in 
colour ; size large (3” to 33”) ee ioe 
3 vomerine teeth; body greenish, with peacock- 
blue and sometimes Italian pink dots ; size small 
(13" to 12”) ... 
Genus Habplochilus. 
Mouth small, not protracticle, no fold on the snout, neither 
vomerine teeth nor pseudobranchiz present, gill-membranes broadly 
united, pectoral fins placed high, and scales with concentric stria- 
tions only. A single species, H. melanostigma. 
rubrostigma. 
panchax. 
parvus. 
I have classed P. dayi as a distinct species from P. lineatum, 
only provisionally, as it is very likely that further research will 
prove them to be conspecific. Steindachner in his description 
distinguishes dayi from lineatwm by the intense sexual dimorphism 
of the former, the most conspicuous differences between the sexes 
in dayi consisting chiefly in the dark vertical bands of the female 
and in the elongation of the anal rays of the male. From an ex- 
amination of a large collection of P. lineatum from Coorg and Cochin, 
I venture to state that the above-mentioned sexual dimorphism 
is exhibited by this species also, though Day fails to record it.? 

1 Thomas, Tank Angling, p. 112 (1887). 
» In his Fishes of Malabar, p. 222, Day states that the colours vary according 
to the sex and that the vertical black stripes are absent in some specimens. 
