324 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS [vo. 48 
important article of commerce for the villagers.” The inhabitants 
of the little hamlet of Yammutuneh catch them by thousands of kilo- 
grams and sell them in the neighboring villages and convents for 
eight to ten cents a “ battle’ which is a measure of about five pounds. 
Fic. 81.—Discognathus lamta, female. After Heckel. 
A characteristic Asiatic genus represented by a number of species 
is Discognathus. It is related to the barbels and, like the typical 
species of that genus, has two pairs of barbels and three rows of 
pharyngeal teeth, but the lip is transformed into a subcircular 
suctorial disk with free margins. The air-bladder is smail, especially 
Fic. 82.—Discognathus lamta, male. After Day. 
its hinder portion. The males of the lamta, in the height of the 
breeding season, may develop a remarkable subfrontal prominence 
and this, as well as the snout, is beset with spiniform tubercles. A 
singular appearance is thus imparted to the head and, as the mouth 
is inferior and concealed from observation, one might mistake, at 
first glance, the cleft between the frontal prominence and snout for 
the mouth. Females have the ordinary barbel-like head and the 
