318 Records of the Indian Museum. [Vol. XXIV. 



1863. Botia hymenophysa, Bleeker, Atl. Ichth. Ill, p. 6, pi. cii, fig. 3. 



1868. Botia hymenophysa, Giinther, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish. VII, p. 368. 



1869. Botia berdmoyei. Day, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, p. 549. 



1872. Botia hymenophysa, Day, Journ. As. Soc. Bengal XI. I, part II, 



p. 178. 

 1878. Botia berdmorei, Day, Fish. India II, p. 607, pi. cliv, fig. 3. 

 1889. Botia berdmorei, Day, Faun. Brit Ind. Fish. I, p. 217. 

 1889. Botia berdmorei, Vinciguerra, Ann. Mus. Nat. Genova XXIX, p. 



345- * 



1903. Botia hymenophysa, Volz, Zool. Jahrb. Syst. XIX, p. 406. 

 1906. Botia hymenophysa, Popta, Notes Leyden Mus. XXVII, p. 207. 

 1916. Botia hymenophysa, Weber and Beaufort, Fish. Indo-Austrai 



Archipelago, III, p. 24, fig. 6. 

 1921. Botia berdmorei, Hora, Rec. Ind. Mus XXII, p. 195. 



This species is distributed over a very wide area. It occurs 

 in the Indo- Australian Archipelago, Siam and Burma. Its range 

 extends as far as the Manipur Valley (Assam), whence the waters 

 flow into the Irrawaddi system. 



There has been considerable confusion as to the occurrence 

 of this species in Burmese waters. Day in 1872 (op. cit.) recorded 

 it from " the northern portions of British and also Upper Burma/' 

 but in his later works he referred fishes with the same Burmese 

 names, " Nga-lha-lay-doh," and " Shoay-Zagay" to Botia berd- 

 morei which he considered to be " closely allied to B. hymenophysa , 

 Bleeker," but differing "in its dorsal fin, and also in its colours, 

 etc." In his "Monograph of Indian Cyprinidae" he gave the 

 habitat of B. berdmorei as ''Darjiling and Bengal generally." 

 This is incorrect and it appears to me from the description of the 

 species that the specimens referred to are not Botia at all. In the 

 Manipur examples (op. cit., p.' 195) I found great variation in the 

 number of oblique bands and also in the general colouration of the 

 body. On the character of the colouration, therefore, I am unable 

 to recognise B. berdmorei as distinct from B. hymenophysa. In my 

 conclusions I am supported by Vinciguerra (op. cit.). 



In the Siamese examples that I have examined, sent me from 

 IvOpburi by Dr. Malcolm Smith, the position of the anus is some- 

 what different. It is situated half-way between the base of the 

 anal fin and the posterior origin of the ventral fin. In another 

 example the anus is much nearer to the base of the anal fin than 

 to that of the ventral fin. There are, however, so many points 

 of agreement between the Siamese and the Burmese forms that 

 I do not think myself justified in separating them. 



Botia curta (Schlegel). 



1850. Cobitis curta, Schlegel, Faun. Japon. Pisces, p. 223, pi. ciii, 



%• 4- 

 1868. Botia curta, Giinther, Brit. Mus. Cat. Fish. VII, p. 368. 

 1903. Hymenophysa curta, Jordan and Fowler, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 



XXVI, p. 772. 



Habitat. — Japan. I have examined a specimen from Yodo 

 river, sent to the Indian Museum by the Otsu I^ake Laboratory. 



