191 



PRISTIGASTER.. 



Among our drawings, there were few which had 

 been arranged by any ichthyologists among the 

 Clupeadse, a very great proportion of which are 

 marine in their habits. The only genus included in 

 the Brazilian fishes which has any claim is a re- 

 markable one, destitute entirely of ventral fins, and 

 Caving the ridge of the belly furnished with a line 

 of prominent serrated processes, from which the 

 generic name of Pristigaster has been given. The 

 fish represented is the P. Martii, Agass. It is a 

 small herring-formed fish, with the belly round and 

 much protruding, and lined with the serratures 

 which appear like a fringe ; the anal fin unusually 

 long. The back and upper part of the fish ia 

 bluish grey, shading into silvery white ; the scaling 

 very large ; length of the fish, three inches. The 

 genus will be always distinguished by the abdominal 

 processes and the want of the ventral fins. It was 

 found in the mouths of the river Amazon. For- 

 mula of the fins, 



D. 3/12 P. 12 A. 48. 



D'Orbigny has figured another fish, under the 

 same generic name, P. jlavipennis, having very 



