412 



SPINY-FINNED GROUP. 



captivity than the gold-fish, as it will breed in vessels of very small capacity. 

 It is even stated to live in water strongly impregnated with acid, and its tenacity 

 of life is very great. When kept in dark or muddy waters the colour is generally 

 a dull uniform brown ; and it is only when living in clear water, exposed to 

 the sunlight, that the golden hue and red transverse bands make their appearance, 

 these showing at an earlier period in the males than in the females. 



On account of the excellent quality and taste of its flesh, mention 

 must be made here of the gurami (Osphromenus olfax), as a well- 

 known representative of a third genus belonging to this family. Agreeing with 

 the members of the preceding genus in the absence of teeth on the palate, the 

 smooth border to the preorbital and opercular, and the structure of the pelvic fins, 



Gurami. 



PARADISE-FISH AND TELESCOPE-FISH. 



these fishes differ by the smaller number of spines in the dorsal or anal fins, which 

 are either fewer than the soft rays, or but very slightly exceed them. The bod}?- 

 is moderately elevated and compressed ; the small and oblique mouth is capable of 

 a considerable degree of protrusion ; and the first ray of the pelvic fins is elongated 

 into a slender filament, the remainder being generally rudimentary. When present, 

 the lateral line is continuous ; and there is always an air-bladder. Distributed 

 over the rivers of South-Eastern Asia, these fishes are represented in India only 

 by a small species (0. nobilis), of some 4 inches in length, inhabiting North - 

 Eastern Bengal and Assam. The gurami, which is a native of the rivers of China 

 and the Malayan Archipelago, has, however, been introduced into several parts of 

 India and has also been naturalised in the Mauritius, Cayenne, and Australia. It 

 is easily recognised by its large size, great convexity of the profile of the under 

 surface, and greenish brown colour, marked in the immature condition by four or 



