294 MR. F. DAY ON THE FISHES OF COCHIN. [ Mar. 14, 
OsTEOGENIOSUS MILITARIS (Linn.). 
B.y. D.+. P.;-—Y.6...A. 20. C. 15. 
ae Bert 
Length of specimen 8 inches. 
Rare ; and not observed above 8 inches in length. 
BATRACHOCEPHALUS MINOR (Buch. Ham.). 
B.v. D.>. P.G. V-6. A. 20. C. 17. 
Length of specimens from 674; to 6,8; inches. 
By no means rare, more especially in the cold months; do not 
appear to grow large; are not esteemed good eating, but used as 
food by the lower classes. 
SaurRIDA TUMBIL (Bloch). 
Arranna (Mal.). 
Be xii, (Dpto BAGH ON, TO AN TOS MEL 19 aaa. 
L. tr. 5/6. 
Length of specimen 7;%; inches. 
Never common; but rarely absent in the cold months of the year. 
Eaten by the natives, but not esteemed. 
In the following description of the Loaches and Carps, I have fol- 
lowed the arrangement adopted by Dr. Bleeker in his excellent 
‘Ichthyological Atlas.’ 
The Loaches are eaten by the poorer classes, or rather the slave 
castes, of Malabar, who obtain them from the inundated paddy-fields 
and small watercourses, where they abound, along with the Sacco- 
branchus singio, Etroplus maculatus, Polyacanthus cupanus, and 
several species of Puntius, &e. Not only do they inhabit the plains, 
but the hills have also their varieties, one of which differs so remark- 
ably from recorded genera that I have instituted a new one for its 
reception. 
My specimens of the common species in spirits have unfortunately 
been destroyed, and skins alone are insufficient for the purpose of 
deciding the genus to which it belongs: it is the Cobitis rubri- 
pinnis (Jerdon), Coyeewalla (Mal.). D. 2/6. A. 2/7. No free 
spine (?) under the eye. Cirri 6. Length of head %, of base of 
dorsal 1, of base of anal 1, of caudal §, of pectoral 4 of total length. 
Height of head +, of body 4, of dorsal fin 4 of total length. Dia- 
meter of eye 1 of length of head, eyes 2 diameters from end of snout, 
2 diameters apart. 
_ Summit of head scaleless ; cheeks scaled. Dorsal central, slightly 
in front of commencement of ventral. Anal in posterior quarter of 
body. Caudal entire, square. 
Colours. Body olive-green, becoming of light brown on the sides, 
with nine brown bars descending halfway to lateral line, and a number 
of smaller and irregular bands beneath. A black bar at base of 
caudal. Dorsal with two brown bars. Caudal with four brown 
bands ; operculum with upper margin black. 
