1871.] SURGEON F. DAY ON INDIAN FISHES. 635 



for 1809 has been disputed by Dr. Giinther. Premising that it 

 has never been my wish to defend any determination of species 

 whenever their incorrectness becomes apparent, still I consider it 

 but reasonable to show my correctness when it has been erroneously 

 called into question. 



Serranus lanceolatus. 



S. horridus, C. et V. 



It is unfortunate that the drift of my observations, made in the 

 P. Z. S. 1869, p. 512, have been so misunderstood by the Recorder, 

 my intention having been to show that Blyth's Serrani which he 

 considered to exhibit the adult livery were identical with what I like- 

 wise held to be the mature form, both of us having arrived at the 

 same conclusion from distinct sets of specimens, collected in different 

 localities. I consequently held that my original statements had 

 been erroneously called into question in the * Fishes of Zanzibar.' 



The presence or absence of caecopyloric appendages is entirely a 

 secondary consideration, apart from the main one, which is, Are 

 Mr. Blyth's species and mine identical or not ? And I most di- 

 stinctly showed them to be so. 



Genus Eutropiichthys. 



Dr. Giinther states, in the ' Record,' that I have " thought proper 

 to create the impression as if the Recorder had overlooked those 

 teeth," viz. those on the palate, my remark being his own words, 

 in inverted commas, thus, "no teeth on the palate;" and Dr. Giin- 

 ther in his article continues that, "having received an example from 

 Colonel Playfair some years ago, the Recorder has found the pala- 

 tine teeth." Where was this fact recorded 1 He remarks, "Mr. 

 Day was well aware that no specimens were available for examina- 

 tion at the time when the generic diagnosis was compiled." This, 

 however, is also an error, as I knew nothing respecting the various 

 collections of fishes Dr. Giinther had examined. 



Pseudeutropitjs taakre, Sykes. 



I identified Hypophthalmus taakree as Pseudeutropius, to which 

 Dr. Giinther demurs, observing, "The position of the barbels in the 

 figure given by Sykes indicates a Eutropius, and not a Pseudeutro- 

 pius, a circumstance left unexplained by Mr. Day." However, 

 Sykes has published no figure showing the inferior surface of the 

 head in this fish, but merely a side view (Trans. Zool. Soc. ii. 

 pi. 64, f. 4), from which I question whether any one could decide 

 whether the barbels are or are not in a transverse line. Sykes says 

 "they are arranged two and two;" but as they exist in pairs on 

 either side of the chin, this statement gives no assistance at arriving 

 at the true facts. 



However, 1 think, all this can be explained. Sykes described two 

 species of Hypophthalmus, H. taakree and H. yoongwaree, and placed 

 his typical specimens in the collection of the Zoological Society, 



