334 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS [voL. 48 
are especially notable, being setiform and close together, somewhat 
as in a shad. 
The catla, according to Day, “attains at least six feet in length 
and a weight of 100 pounds; it resides in fresh or brackish water, 
being found within tidal influence.” It ranges throughout India 
to the Kistna, and eastward through Bengal and Burma to Siam. 
Fic. 95.—Catla buchanani. After Day. 
Hamilton Buchanan found that “it is a very strong active animal, 
and often leaps over the seine of the fishermen, on which account, 
when fishing for the catla, they usually follow the net in canoes and 
make a noise by shouting and splashing with their paddles.” It is 
said by Thomas to be “ very destructive to small fish.” 
As one of the regular game fishes of India, it is claimed by H. S. 
Thomas that ‘“‘ one must fish with the bait off the ground, for his 
mouth would seem to be formed to take bait from above and not off 
the ground.” As bait, “ small fish, spoon and phantom ”’ are used to 
some extent, but “ paste is the standard bait.” 
The “sprightly mirgha” (Cirrhina mrigala) is the chief of a 
genus (Cirrhina) generally approximated to catla, but with short 
gill-rakers, a smaller head with little arched interorbital area, and 
the lower jaw with a symphysial tubercle. Five Indian and other 
southeastern Asiatic species have been recognized. 
The mirgha, according to Day, is an inhabitant of “rivers and 
tanks in Bengal, Deccan, Northwest Provinces, Punjab, Sind, Cutch 
and Burma,” and grows to a length of three feet and a weight of 
some forty pounds. It is considered to be “an excellent species for 
stocking tanks with,” and is also an esteemed angle fish. Thomas 
records that fishes are “ taken with a rod up to 34 pounds in weight.” 
