730 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Yol. XXIV. 



posterior dorsal is tipped white and a broad blackish band runs across 

 posterior dorsal fin and along posterior dorsal fringe ; opercular spot 

 moderately distinct. Lobes of caudal are tipped with black. 



Lateral line runs back in a convex curve to a line dropped half-way along 

 posterior dorsal fin, whence it continues in a straight line to tail. The free 

 portion being prominently keeled as in the Pirao. 



Remarks. — The presence of the opercular spot is not mentioned in Day's 

 description of Caranx nigrippinis. The absence of the anterior adipose lid 

 is also of interest, and the divergence of opinion as regards the question of 

 villiform teeth on the palate and vomer calls for comment. The Gishran, 

 similarly to the Pirao, when taken out of his natural element, utters a series 

 of grunts like those made by young pig and these grunts may be continued 

 at intervals until vitality ceases. 



Let us now touch concisely on the habits and sporting qualities of the 

 Gishran. 



The Gishran is a very lively little bantam Caranx, and he frequently/ 

 gulls the angler into the belief that he is a heavy Pirao. Like his elder 

 brother he seizes the bait in a most impetuous fashion, so much so that the 

 first rush of a 7 lb. Gishran will often take out 50 yards of line without a 

 check. On a light rod the Gishran would afl'ord first-class sport, and a 

 right merry dance would be led the fisherman. The maximum weight to 

 which the Gishran attains may be stated as 12 lbs., but a 7 lb. fish is fully 

 mature ; at this stage of his existence his flesh is so tough that it is quite 

 unsuited for table purposes. The natural food of this species of Caranx 

 is small fry of which preference is probably given to the mullet ; it would 

 be correct therefore to suppose that the Gishran would be found in shallow 

 water. This surmise is entirely borne out by practical experience ; the author 

 cannot recall a single instance in which the Gishran has been caught beyond 

 the five fathom line. In numbers the Gishran is not very plentiful, but 

 what he lacks in density he makes up for in rapacity ; he is a voracious 

 little glutton and will consume with avidity a mullet measuring a third of 

 his own length. 



The next species that figures on the list of the surface-feeding Caranx\s, the 



Shahbeni. Caranx onalabaricus. 



Of all God's finny creatures that have come under the personal observa- 

 tion of the writer not a single species can, for elegance and beauty, compare 

 with the Shahbeni. Unfortunately this splendid game fish rarely comes to 

 gaff ; but when Dame Fortune is full of smiles, and a Shahbeni is flopping 

 about at the bottom of the dinghy, the true angler, not the butcher, will 

 surely be lost in profound admiration and ecstasy at the gorgeousness of 

 his prize. The iridescence that shimmers over the shapely form is a marvel 

 of delight ; and the hues in which this denizen of the deep is garbed rival 

 the reflections of an Eastern sunset. 



Description — 



Weight. — 7^ lbs. 



Length. — From tip of nose to fork of caudal 2 ft. 0^ inches. 



Depth. — 7 inches. 



Girth. — -16 inches. 



Eye. — Large. 



Teeth. — Villiform teeth on both jaws, tongue, palate, and gills. 



Colour. — Back steely-blue to green, and brilliantly iridescent, belly silvery 

 and equally nacreous. The sides both above and below the lateral line are 

 marked with lemon yellow spots about the size of a pea ; and some time 

 after death the sides are covered with a most remarkable tracery. This 

 gossamery filigree is extremely diflicult to describe accurately. It resembles 



