648 Records of the Indian Museuui. [Voi,, XXII, 



as a specific character; but further examinatiou showed that it is 

 not only variable in the different species of the genus, but differs 

 in individuals of the same species as well. Jloreover, in the young 

 individuals it is in all species very much like the normal form. As 

 I have already remarked, it is not surprising to find considerable 

 variation in an organ which shows retrogressive degeneration. 

 I hope to deal with this aspect of the matter shortly in a separate 

 paper dealing with tlie adaptations of the hill-stream fishes. 



I have examined the weberian ossicles in these genera and 

 do not find any great departure in any of them from the normal 

 form. The platform formed by the transverse processes of the third 

 vertebra shows certain modifications, Ijut their discussion is beyond 

 the scope of the present enquiry. 



GARRA AND DISCOGNATHUS. 



Quite recently Annandale and myself (1920) recognised Dis- 

 cognatkus as a separate genus from G.irra, basing our distinction 

 mainly on the position of the mouth, which in the former is situat- 

 ed near the tip of the snout, on the presence of vestigial lips 

 and disc in Discognathus and lastly on the fact that in the genus 

 Discogiiathus the " opercular and preopercular borders " meet "at 

 an acute angle on the ventral surface some distance behind the 

 adhesive disc." In view of the developmental series described 

 above and also in view of the occurrence in the Darjiling Hima- 

 layas of a form very similar to G. qiiadrimaculatus from Oriental 

 Africa, I am unable to retain the view recently expressed b}^ Annan- 

 dale and myself. If two genera are adopted the systematic position 

 of certain stages in the development of some advanced members 

 of Garra becomes obscure and certain abnormalities due to restrict- 

 ed development cannot easily be referred to their proper genera. 



Garman (1912) divided the species of the genus Garra into 

 three groups which he considered as distinct suVjgenera. He based 

 his distinction on the number of barbels and recognised Bleeker's 

 (1863) two subgenera, Garra and Discognathus, as valid. He at 

 the same time proposed a new subgenus, Ageneiogarra (to accom- 

 modate his species G. imberba from China), characterised by the 

 absence of barbels. The specific name he employed for his new 

 species is preoccupied^ as Vincisuerra (1889) has described a fish 

 from Burma as Discognathus imhcrbis. The barbels are so minute 

 throughout the genus that I do not regard their occasional absence 

 as a character of subgeneric importance. 



As regards the relationship of Garra with other Cyprinid 

 genera, it is better to postpone a full discussion until the Malay 

 forms assigned to Crossochiliis are available for examination. It 

 may, however, be pointed out that great similarity exists between 

 the mouth-parts of Ctrrbina. Crossuchilus and Garra and that 

 Cirrhina holds the same relation to Crossochilus which the less 

 specialised members of Garra hold to the more specialised forms 

 ■in the genus. 



