62 Records of the Indian Museum. [Vor. .VII, 
depths of 24 to 35 fathoms off the coasts of the districts of Ganjam 
and Vizagapatam, but principally off the former. The twenty- 
four to thirty-fathom grounds off Ganjam, Gopalpur, Sonapur, 
Baruva and Kalingapatam were thoroughly explored. These 
grounds were stocked with good edible fish, Percidae for the main 
part. The net was frequently torn and damaged in these waters 
owing to the presence of rock-like masses consisting of shells of 
Siliquaria cochlearis and Spiroglyphus cummingi interwoven with 
a Lithistid sponge.' One of these reefs was located when haul- 
ing off Gopalpur light which bore N.N.E. about 18 miles. The 
depth of water was 26 fathoms and the reef extended in a 
W.S.W. direction from that point. The solid nature of the ground 
in this neighbourhood furnishes a holding place for gigantic fan-like 
Antipatharia. Other typical forms of this area are Solenocaulon, 
Rhipidogorgia and Eunicella. 
‘The fish of this area are quite distinct from those of the other 
three areas explored. Of the Trygonidae, for instance, Tvygon 
kuhlit and T. zugei are the most characteristic, the latter appa- 
rently not being found further north. Tvygon microps, the largest 
of the Indian sting-rays, was frequently taken here. On the oth 
March 1909, about half-way between Rati beacon and Pundi one 
was captured which weighed over 400 tb. The bony fishes serve 
to differentiate this region from those further north, and whole 
families are met with here which are only represented by isolated 
individuals or are entirely absent in the other areas.’ The Cen- 
triscidae, for example, are represented by the curious shrimp-fish, 
Amphisile scutata, which was not obtained in Areas I or III, but 
was occasionally met with on the Arakan Coast. 
The Percidae were far more abundant off the Ganjam district 
than elsewhere and in particular Serranus pantherinus and S. 
latifasciatus were typical. Two others that might be mentioned 
are Lutjanus marginatus and Scolopsis vosmert. The Chaetodon- 
tidae were first recorded in the ‘‘Golden Crown’s”’ hauls from 
this area, andin particular Chaetodon vogabundus var. pictus, Hento- 
chus macrolepidotus and Holacanthus xanthurus were frequently 
present. ‘These fish are of small size and bright coloration. They 
are typical coral-reef denizens. 
Of the Sciaenidae, the genus Umbrina replaces the genus 
Sciaena of more northern waters. Umbrina macroptera was only 
recorded from this area. The Acanthuridae are also typical, the 
two leading forms being Acanthurus punctatus and A. gahm. 
Two species of Muraenidae were captured here. Both belonged 
to the genus Muraena, the only species identified being Muraena 
punctata. Other families though not restricted to this area were 
far more common here than elsewhere. Amongst these may be 
mentioned the Berycidae with Holocentrum rubrum and Mynipristis 
murdjan, the Sphyraenidae (Barracutas) with Sphyraena jello and 
1 For a detailed description vide Annandale, ‘‘ Some sponges associated with 
gregarious molluscs of the family Vermetidae,’’ Rec. Ind. Mus., vol. vi, p. 47. 
