146 SPOLTA ZEYLANICA. 



The adult lula feeds upon smaller fishes and frogs. In Ceylon it 

 is known to be particularly partial to a near relative, the " pandaral 

 kanaya" {Ophiocephalus gachua), whose recognition marks are the 

 barred yellow and black pectoral fins and the tubular nostrils ; it 

 also likes " issu" (fresh water prawns) and " dandiya " (the Ceylon 

 minnow, Rasbora daniconius). 



Mr. H. S. Thomas (Rod in India, 3rd edit., 1897, p. 234) says that 

 " murral are the easiest of all Indian fish to introduce "; they will 

 " thrive in ponds and at various altitudes, so you can easily stock a 

 pond if you desire, but they will speedily depopulate it of other 

 sorts of fish.* The natives frequently put them into their wells, 

 from which they can take them fresh as they want them." This 

 last practice does not seem to be common in Ceylon, but is occa- 

 sionally met with, as in the resthouse well at Alut-oya in the 

 Tamankaduwa district, North-Central Province. They are kept 

 here, however, merely for show, being fed artificially once or twice 

 a week with small fish. 



Dr. Theodore Gill notes that the Ophiocephalids are in prime 

 condition when perfectly fresh and throbbing. It would appear 

 that they cannot be salted or dried successfully, and therefore that, 

 however plentiful they may be, they cannot compete with the 

 customary dried fish in curry. 



The habit of brood-nursing or parental care of the eggs and 

 young has been often described, as, for example, by Day, Thomas, 

 and others, and more recently, from a comparative standpoint, by 

 Gill.t In Mysore it was observed by Colonel Puckle (quoted by 

 Day) that 0. striatus breeds twice a year, in June and December, 

 the males constructing their nests amongst the vegetation at the 

 edges of the tanks. In South Canara it is said to breed in December 

 and January. 



Although I have not yet had an opportunity of witnessing the 

 nidification*and brood-nursing of the lula, I have on two occasions 

 secured samples of the fry. Part of a swarm was taken from the 

 Galelawala, Bar awe, near Hanwella, in the late afternoon on 

 February 19, 1908. The total length (from snout to tip of caudal 

 fin) varied from 32 to 37 mm. J The ground colour, especially at the 

 sides of the body, was pellucid red, and the upper half of the eyes was 

 bright red. The general shape was that of a tadpole, and there is 

 reason to think that this is a fundamental form. 



They were poured into a bath, where they were kept over night, 

 restored to the chatty next day, and brought to Colombo (18 miles) 

 by bullock coach arriving at 1 p.m. All except one or two were 

 ahve on arrival ; many dead " kuni," small fresh water shrimp-like 



* See below. 



t Gill, Th. Parental care among Fresh Water Fishes. Ann. Rep. (1905), 

 Smithsonian Inst., Washington, 1906, p. 492. 

 X About 1^ to 1^ inch. 



