142 MB. r. DAT ON THE SEOGUAPHrCAL BISTRIBUTTON OV 



cannot help observing that they do not give one single instance 

 of a freshwater genus being restricted to India and Africa, whilst 

 the majority are common to the Indian and Malayan faunae. In 

 short, they may be divided as follows: — Of the 19 freshwater 

 genera, 15 reach the Malay archipelago ; of the remaining 4 

 genera, Badis exists in Burma, and may extend to Siam and 

 beyond, Trlchogaster \b found in Siam, whilst Channa is common 

 to Ceylon and China. The remaining genus, Etroplus, is con- 

 fined to "Western and Southern India, also Ceylon ; whilst recently 

 Dr. Bleeker has discovered that a nearly allied genus {Paretrop- 

 lus, Bleeker) is present in Madagascar. This island, however, 

 may or may not originally have been joined on to Africa. It has 

 been observed that "Madagascar, divided from Africa by a deep 

 channel 300 miles wide, possesses so many peculiar features as to 

 indicate separation at a very remote antiquity, or even to render 

 it doubtful whether the two countries have ever been absolutely 

 united " (Wallace, ' Malay Archipelago,' ii. p. 11). 



Out of the foregoing .19 freshwater genera existing in India, 

 only 3 have as yet been recorded from Africa, but 15 from the 

 Malay archipelago, whilst all the marine genera common to Africa 

 and India extend to the Malay archipelago. 



It may therefore be fairly assumed that amongst the freshwater 

 Acanthopterygian fishes of India and Ceylon a well-marked 

 Malayan character is present, whereas an African element is but 

 slightly apparent. 



Having thus briefly disposed of the families and genera, it be- 

 comes necessary to show where the various species reside, and the 

 range within which they are limited, in order to attempt to evolve 

 whether any, and, if so, what subregions exist. 



Fara. Pekcid^. 

 G-enus Ambassis. 



1. A. nana\ Ham. Buck. 



Sind, the entire plains of India (excluding the Malabar ooast and Assam), 

 to Burma. 



2. A. RANGA^, Ham. Buck. 



1 Includes : — Chanda phula and C. bagoda, Ham. Buch. ; Ambassis ohlonga, 

 Cuv. & Val. ; A. indica, M'Clelland. 



^ Includes: — Chanda Ma, Ham. Buch. (young); C. ruconius, M'Clelland; 

 Ambassis Barlovi, Sykes ; A. alia, Cuv. & Val. 



