312 ME. F. DAT ON THE EELATIO]!rSHTP OF THE 



has made the study of Indian fishes his occupation might be en- 

 titled to some credence, and that many of these forms are 

 distinctly freshwater species. 



Consequently, among the Pebcina, instead oftheLates, common 

 to India and Africa, being the only genus in the fresh waters of 

 the Indian region, it must be erased from such a list, and 

 restricted to a marine fauna; while Ambassis has to be in- 

 troduced among the freshwater fauna, a genus which is absent 

 from Africa. 



Next in succession Dr. G-iinther gives the following : — Naistdina, 

 7 species, consisting of Badis 2 species, Nandus 2 species, Pristo- 

 lepis (he elects to term it Gatojjrd) 3 species, as recorded in the 

 British-Museum Catalogue. These numbers would seem to 

 omit the Pristolepis marginatus, Jerdon, and P. malabaricus, 

 Griinther, both restricted to the Indian region. 



" Labteinthici (Africa), 25 species." — If we add the species 

 admitted into the ' Zoological E-ecord' to those in the British- 

 Museum Catalogue, we obtain as follows : — Anahas 4, 'H'plostoma 

 1, Polyacanthus 7, Macropus 1, Osphromenus 6, TricTiogaster 4, 

 Betta 2, or 25 species. Now, although the genera Spirohranchus 

 and Gtenopoma, both belonging to the Labyrinthici, are found in 

 Africa, they do not extend to the Indian region. The genera of 

 this family present in Africa are distinct from the genera which 

 exist in Asia ; or Labyrinthici includes 7 Indian and 2 African 

 genera, none of which are common to both regions. 



Ltjciocephalid^. — Eepresented by a small species of Lucio- 

 cephalus found in the East-Indian archipelago. 



Sci^NiD^. — Members of this family, in the ' Introduction,' 

 find no place among the freshwater fish-fauna of India. Grenus 

 Scicena affords one species, S. coitor, that lives and breeds in 

 many of the Indian rivers. Hamilton Buchanan observes : — " This 

 fish is found in the Granges, from the sea up as far at least as 

 Kanpur (Cawnpore), and in the Jumna as far as Agra. It is, 

 however, much more common where the tide reaches, although 

 its quality improves in the upper parts of the river, especially 

 where the shores are rocky" (Grangetic Eishes, p. 75). In the 

 ' Introduction to the Study of Eishes,' Dr. Giinther observes of 

 Scicena^ coitor on its being one of the most common fishes on 



* He makes the same remark of 8. diacanihus, a species which only ascends 

 as far as the tidal influence reaches, or perhaps a little above ; while S, coitor 

 breeds in rivers above large weirs destitute of any fish-passes. 



