I860.] Report on some Fishes received from the Sitang River. 165 



M. Valenciennes recognises Cobitis only, with the addition of Baei- 

 toea, Gray, to which he refers the Homalopteea of Kuhl and von 

 Hasselt ; but a Tenasserim species conforms in type to the H. eey- 

 thbopteba, K. et v. H., and differs considerably from true Balitoea, 

 as the latter differs entirely from the Platycaea of McClelland (as 

 originally constituted upon his Pe. nastjta, which, as we have seen, 

 is a large-scaled Cyprin). The ordinary Loches have been commonly 

 arranged according to the presence or absence of a moveable forked 

 spine under or before the eye ; but Mr. McClelland divides them 

 according to the shape of the tail into Cobitis and Schistura, each 

 comprising both spined and spineless species. The series now to 

 classify necessitates the adoption of further subdivisions and the 

 admission of some entirely new forms. 



I. — Botia, Gray ; founded on B. geandis, Gray, figured in Hard- 

 wicke's ' Illustrations of Indian Zoology ;' to which have been rightly 

 added the (Cobitis) geta and (O.) baeio of B. Hamilton. These 

 have more the form of ordinary Cyprins, and a strongly forked tail : 

 the air-vessel as usual in the Carp family. We have now five species 

 in the museum, comprising two hitherto undescribed which nearly 

 approximate B. geandis, but have the muzzle less prolonged — so 

 that the distance from the eye to the muzzle is a fourth less. All 

 have a stout forked spine under each eye, of which the second 

 or posterior prong is much longer than the anterior ; and their 

 colours are bright black and yellow, with barred markings on the fins. 



1. B. sbakdis, Gray (nee apud McClelland, 0. J. N, H. II, 586). 

 Of this we possess a blanched specimen from Almoreh, presented by 

 the late Major R. Wroughton. 



2. B. nebtjlosa, nobis, n. s. Like B. geandis, but with the 

 face shorter (as described), and eight cirri not quite so strongly 



unnecessary coinage of new names. Thus Botta of Gray he terms Biacantha, 

 retaining two of i>. Hamilton's species which he refers to, viz. daeio and geta. 

 His Diacantha is moreover erroneously stated to have " the body destitute of 

 scales;" which again i3 erroneously asserted of his Canthophri/s, to which he 

 refers the C. gttm'tea, B. H., by the new name vitlatus. I doubt if any Loche 

 is scaleless. The ' circle of five' completed, of course a redistribution is necessary 

 as often as any well-marked new form is brought to notice, and especially sucli 

 very strongly characterised generic forms as will be here described. 



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