122 F. Day — Identity of EretJiistes and Hara. [July, 



agree with either geims, but rather with Oreicola (= Bliodopliila) . Two 

 specimens were obtained, both probably females ; for they very much resemble 

 in plumage female birds of ^ratincola. 



The President remarked that although Dr. Stoliczka had only read 

 the opening pages of his paper, he had seldom listened to a clearer or more 

 complete sketch of the physical geography of a small district. 



The aspect of Kachh was very peculiar, and the character of the country 

 very marked, but it was not by any means an easy task to bring such pecu- 

 liarities so clearly forward, as to enable a reader of the description to realize 

 them. There was one point on which veiy possibly Dr. Stohczka had 

 enlarged, though in the abstract he had given he had not noticed it, and that 

 was of some interest as bearing on the geographical distribution of animals 

 and plants. This distribution w^as often spoken of as if people really sup- 

 posed that there was something in the animal itself, some law of existence 

 born with it, which prevented the possibility of such organised beings over- 

 stepping fixed boundaries or limits of area. Now Kachh was a peculiarly 

 good instance in point. Dr. Stoliczka had shown very briefly the extremely 

 limited number of its fauna and even of its flora ; and it became quite clear 

 that numerous animals which were to be found in adjoining districts and 

 not in Kachh were absent from this Province, solely because the physical con- 

 ditions favourable to their existence did not exist. The moment these con- 

 ditions came into being again, even within the same geographical area, the 

 animals and plants were found to accompany them ; and the peculiar physi- 

 cal conditions of the province of Kachh rendered it an admirably compact 

 and useful illustration of this fact. 



III. — On the identity oe the SiLrEOiD geneea Eeethistes and Haea, — 

 hy Surgeon Major Fhancis Day. 

 [Eeceived 28tli May, 1872.] 



In my resume of the fishes included in Genus Hara, Blyth, and pub- 

 lished in the " Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal," 1870, p. 40, I did 

 not include JErethistes pusillus,^ Miiller and Troschel (Horse ichthiologicse, 

 1845), as that fish, the type of the Genus, was stated to be destitute of barbels 

 (except perhaps maxillary), whereas there are eight barbels in Hara. 



Blyth in 1860 when describing the species, constituting his new genus 

 Hara, made no allusion to E. pusillus, and Dr. Giinther in his fifth volume 

 of the Catalogue of fish placed Hara as a doubtfull constituent of his 

 sub-family SiluridcB j^roteropterce, and JErethistes as probably one of the 

 Siluridcd proteropodes., 



I now propose advancing the opinion that not only are the genera 



* This fish, came from Asam where Pimelodus Hara, H. B., is found. 



