226 



head or a little shorter. Second dorsal and anal rather high. 

 Ventrals reaching the anal, as long as snout and eye, ! / 4 shorter 

 than pectorals, about i 1 ^ in length of head. Pectoral spine nearly 



Fig. 90. Paraplotosus albilabris (C. V.). 



equal to that of first dorsal. Uniform black, undersurface of 

 head and abdomen greyish, lips white. Length more than 

 350 mm. 



Habitat: Java (Batavia) ; Bintang ; Biliton ; Singapore ! ; 

 Celebes (Bulukomba). Aru islands! New Guinea (Sorong!). 



In sea. 



2. Plotosus Lacepede. 

 (LACPDE. Hist. Nat. Poissons V. 1803, p. 129). 



Elongate, tail tapering, head depressed, covered with thin 

 skin. Mouth transverse, rounded in front. Lips thick with 

 papillae or small laminated folds. Upperlip prominent, ante- 

 riorly perforated by the anterior nostril, which forms a short 

 rounded tube. Posterior nostril a slit between eye and lip, in 

 front of which a nasal barbel. A maxillary barbel near the 

 end of the upperlip, a mandibulary barbel near the corner 

 of the mouth and two mental ones between the mandibulary 

 ones. Eye not covered by skin. First dorsal short, behind 

 origin of pectorals, with few rays and a strong spine, den- 

 ticulated at both edges. Second dorsal beginning between 

 origin of ventrals and anal. It is similar to lastnamed and 

 both are many-rayed and confluent with the caudal. Ventrals 

 with as many as 12 rays. Pectorals with a denticulated spine. 

 Conical teeth in upper jaw in a narrow, square band, those 

 in the mandible mixed with molar teeth, in a semicrescentic 

 band. Vomerine teeth molarlike in a crescentic band. Lateral 

 line well developed. 20 28 gillrakers on the total first bran- 

 chial arch, similar ones on the second arch, those on the two 



