1921.] S. L. HoRA : Fishes of the geims Garra. 677 



various authors to Garra lamta. Blanford ' referred those from 

 Lahej near Aden to the latter species on the authoritj- of Giinther 

 Annandale/ while recognising that the Palestine species was 

 distinct from the Indian one, considered it merely a local race of 

 G. lamta which he called nifits (Heck.). Both Lortet ^ and 

 Tristram * also described and figured their examples from Palestine 

 as G. lamta,'' while Jenkins' referred the Baluchistan specimen 

 to the same species without comment. The Abyssinian form 

 previouslj' referred to G. lamta Ijy Blanford [op. cit., p. 460) and 

 Vinciguerra ^ has been separated by Boulenger '^ under the name 

 G. blanfordi. Numerous examples collected between the Helraand 

 and the Kushk Rivers in Afghanistan were recorded by Giinther * 

 himself as G. laiiitc, but Boulenger in the paper cited above has 

 referred the same specimens to G. variahilis , Heck. , of which he 

 regards Nikolski's" G. rossicus as a synonym. 



In mv opinion the Arabian form must be described as a new 

 species. I agree with Boulenger and Annandale as regards those 

 frorn Abyssinia and Seistan, while G. rujiis seems to me to be 

 specifically distinct. The single specimen from Persian Baluchis- 

 tan probably represents an undescribed species, V)ut I prefer not 

 to name it on the basis of a single individual. Boulenger in the 

 paper cited above gives a very wide interpretation to the species G. 

 variabilis (Heck.), in which Tate Regan '^ also included the form 

 recently described by Annandale '^ as C. phryne. Mr. Tate Regan 

 has, however, recently informed us that there are no specimens in 

 the Briti.sh Museum that he can refer to G. variabilis, and it is clear 

 that several allied forms are capable of specific separation. 



Garra arabica, sp. nov. 



1S70. DiscognatliKS lamta. Bl.'iiitord lin part). GeoJ. Zool. Abyssinia. 

 p. 461. 



D. 3/8. A. 2/5. V. Q. p. 14—15. 

 Garra arabica is a fairly stout fish with the dorsal profile 

 arched and the ventral almost horizontal and straight in front of 

 the anal fin. beyond which it rises to the base of the caudal fin. 

 The head and bod}' are somewhat depressed. The length of the 

 head is contained 4 to 4*3 times and the depth of the body 3"6 to 4 



' Geol. Zool. Abyssinia, p. 461 (1S70}. 

 ■^ Journ. As. Soc. Bengal (n.s.) IX , p. 37. ti^. 2 (ipl.^J. 

 '' Arch. Mils. d'Hist. Nat. Lyon III, p. 153, pi. xvi. figs. 4,5 (1SS31. 

 * Faun. Flor. Palest., p. 172, xix, fig'. 3 (i!^!^4)- 



*> The specimen fiffLired by i.ortct is quite distinct from .\nnandale's Palestine 

 specimens. 



" Rcc. hid. Mils. \' . p. 124 I 19 111). 



" Ann. Mas. Geneva XVIII, p. &g5 (1SS3). 



■I Proc. Zool. Soc. London II, p. 160(1901). 



■' Trans. Linn. Soc. (2) V. p. 170 ( 1 889 1. 



'" Ann. Mus. Zool. Acad. Petersboiirg V, p. 239 1 1900). 



" Journ. As. Soc. Bengal II, p. 8(1906). 



•' Pec. Ind. Mus. XVIII, p. 70, pi. x. fig. 3. pi. \i, fig. 2. 



