597 



NOTES ON THE FISH COLLECTION IN THE MUSEUM 

 OF THE BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 



WITH A SYSTEMATIC CATALOGUE.* 

 By p. W. Bassett-Smith, Staff Sukgeon, R.N., F.Z.S. 

 {Read before the Bombay Nabiral History Society on Sept. 22nd, 1896.) 

 On joining the Bombay Natural History Society in November, 1895, 

 I found a very fair collection of fish in the museum, which had been 

 carefully preserved. A large number of these specimens were obtained 

 by Mr. Phipson, C.M.Z.S., some years ago from the fish bunder at 

 Golaba. These have since been slowly added to by gifts from- Adea 

 and Colombo, and lately many have been obtained here. 



It is however still very far from being anything like a local re- 

 presentative collection, though an excellent nucleus of one, and the 

 Society would only be too glad if members living near the coast and 

 up-country would send specimens with notes concerning them ; the 

 fresh-water fish being particularly poorly represented. The fi-sh had 

 not been named, or systematically arranged, and it has given me 

 great pleasure to do these during the last few months, following the 

 nomenclature of " Day " in his Fauna of British India (Fishes), 1889^ 



A large number of these fish have been collected on the bunder and 

 in the market, and consequently the majority are used for food by 

 some of the teeming population of this city. A considerable number 

 however of the smaller and coarser kinds are eaten only by the 

 lower castes. 



The most important families supplying these food fishes being the 

 Pereidce, Cyprinidce, Clupeidcej Mullidoe, Sparidce, Polynemidce, Sci~ 

 cenidce, Carangidce, Stromateidce, Mugilidoi and Pleuronedidce^ that 

 great genus of temperate climates. The Gadidoi (Cod family) is here 

 only represented by a single species, a small fish, Bregmaceros maccel-^ 

 landi. 



Going down the classified list, the following are the most interesting 

 forms now in the museum, either from peculiarities of structure or 

 quaintness of shape. 



* Since this paper was written the two specitoens mentioned as doubtfully new hava 

 been sent to Mr. Boulenger, F.R.S., of the British Museum, who has kindly identified them aa 

 Percis tertracanthus which had never been taken in this locality before, the other a specimen 

 of DiscagnathviS latnta with very small barbels. 



