VII. ON A NEW SPECIES OF D I S C G N A- 

 T H U S FROM THE KANGRA VALLEY. 



By B. Prashad, D.Sc, Superintendent of Fisheries, Bengal 

 Fisheries Laboratory , Indian Museum, Calcutta. 



[Published by permission of the Director of Fisheries, Bengal). 



(With two text-figures). 



The identification of the various Indian species of the genus 

 Discognathus has always been a matter of great difficulty. The 

 task has, however, been made much easier by the admirable treat- 

 ment of the subject by Dr. Annandale. This paper, of which I 

 had the privilege of consulting the manuscript and the original 

 drawings, is published in the present volume of the "Records " 

 immediately previous to this note (pp. 125- 138). I am also deeply 

 indebted to Dr. Annandale for his valuable advice regarding this 

 species of fish and for going through the manuscript. The speci- 

 mens of this fish were sent to me by L. Devi Ditta Mai of the 

 Punjab Fisheries Department and to him also my best thanks are 

 due. 



Discognathus kangrae, sp. nov. 



This species dilTers from the other Indian species of the genus 

 in the proportions of the ditt'erent parts of the body, in the shape 

 and size of the mental disc, the situation of the eye, the shape of 

 the tail and the dorsal fin. 



D. II (2/9). P. 16. V. 9. A. 7 (2/5). L.l. 34. L.t. 4/5. 



The total length is about 4^- times the greatest depth of the 

 body and less than 4 times the length of the head. The diameter 

 of the eye, which is situated nearer the operculum than the snout, 

 is contained a little less than 8 times in the length of the head. 

 The interorbital space is slightly convex, about 3-I times the diame- 

 ter of the eye. The snout has in the adult male a large number of 

 tubercles, some with small conical spines, arranged in two to three 

 TOWS on the lateral sides of the head. There is a fairly deep 

 groove of a semicircular outline on the dorsal surface of the head, 

 extending along the sides up to the nostrils, but there is no pro- 

 jection. The nostrils are large and prominent. The dorsal 

 profile from the anterior edge of the dorsal fin is nearly straight 

 up to the eyes, whence it suddenly slopes forwards ; behind the 

 dorsal fin the profile is slightly concave. The upper lip is fairly 

 broad and the lower lip is very much enlarged with an ovoid 

 mental disc. There are four barbels, the posterior pair at the 

 margins of the mouth being much smaller than the anterior ones. 



