293 
keeled in young specimens. Its posterior end broadly trun- 
cated. Median fontanel tapers acutely and reaches to crown of 
head. An oval fontanel above operculum. Humeral process 
granular, even as the broad, semicircular basal bone of dorsal 
spine. Eye 7—8, the snout 3 times or a little more, interorbital 
space nearly 3 times in head. Cleft of mouth with thick lips, 
more than 2'/, times in head. Maxillary barbels reaching to 
end of operculum or base of pectorals. Mandibulary barbels 
to hindborder of gillmembrane or not so far, mental barbels 
much shorter. Height of dorsal nearly equal to head without 
snout, its origin midway between ventrals and pectorals. The 
strong, flattened dorsal spine is equal to postorbital part of 
Fig. 119. Arius carinatus M. Web. nat. size. 
head and its hindborder is conspicuously denticulated its 
frontborder only slightly so. Adipose fin originates before anal, 
its length is equal to postorbital part of head, is longer than 
the base of the dorsal and equals about 11/, times its distance 
from the dorsal. Height of anal equal to postorbital part of 
head. Ventrals nearly as long as head without snout, nearly 
reaching to anal. Pectorals longer than head without snout, 
as long as their very strong flattened spine, the hindborder 
of which is serrated. Caudal deeply incised, the pointed lobes 
3 times longer than the median rays. Axillary pore present. 
Pointed teeth in the upper jaw in two separate bands, nearly 
twice as broad as long, mesially rounded, laterally obliquely 
truncated, mandibulary bands narrower, slightly curved, tape- 
