364 ACANTHOPTERTGII. 



from the eye to the middle of the caudal fin, but in the more mature there are five or sis cloudy bands 

 descending to below the lateral-line : abdomen orange, the bases of each scale darkest : on the posterior third 

 of the body, on the dorsal, anal, and caudal fins are pearly-white spots, and there is generally a large black 

 ocellus at the upper part of the base or first-third of the caudal fin, which latter is gray, ventrals orange. 



"In the lower parts of Bengal, the persons dedicated to religion, from some old prejudice, think 

 it unlucky to say that it (0. maridius) is either good or bad." (Ham. Buck.) 



" Some of the Karens in Burma regard these fishes with superstitious awe, and abstain jfrom eating them. 

 They have a legend that they were formerly men, changed iato fish for their sins, and the Karens of 

 Tavoy say, ' if people eat them, they will be transformed into lions.' " (Mason). 



Eabitat.— 'Fresh waters, principally rivers, from Ceylon and India to China : attaining as much as four 

 feet in length. Colonel Puckle observes " that they are very savage, protectiag their young with great 

 boldness." They take a live bait pretty well. 



2. Ophiocephalus leucopunctatus, Plate LXXVII, fig. 1. 



? O'pUocephalms pvmctaims, Russell, Fish. Vizag. ii, p. 48 (not Bloch), and SowwraJi, pi. 173. 

 OpMocephalus leucopunctatus, Sykes, Trans. Z. S. ii, p. 362, pi. 60, f. 3 ; Bleeker, Beng. en Hind. p. 42. 

 ? Ophiocephalus sowarah, Cuv. and Val. vii, p. 426 ; Bleeker, Beng. en Hind. p. 42. 



OphioaephaUs grandmosus, Cuv. and Val. vii, p. 434, pi. 203 ; Bleeker, Beng. en Hind. p. 42 ; Gunther, 

 Catal. iii, p. 478. 



B. V, D. 47-53, P. 18, V. 6, A.' 28-35, C. 14, L. 1. 59-60, L. tr. Jiifi or -^Zfr- 



Length of head 4, of caudal 6, height of body 7 to 7J in the total length. Eyes — diameter 8 in length 

 of head. If diameters from end of snout, and H to 2 apart. The width of the head equals 4/7 of its length, 

 and its height equals 1/2 its length excluding the snout. The maxilla extends to 1/2 a diameter of the eye 

 behiad the orbit. Teeth — about ten conical, widely separated teeth exist in the lower jaw. Fins — dorsal 

 commences over the end of the opercle, it reaches nearly or quite to above the anal : ventral 2/3 as long as the 

 pectoral. Caudal fan-shaped. Scales — as in 0. ma/rulius, 16 rows between snout and base of dorsal fin, the 

 plate-like ones on the summit of the head of moderate size : ten rows between eye and angle of preopercle. 

 Colours — ^back grayish-green, descending in bars on to an orange abdomen : numerous white spots on the body 

 sometimes with a black margin : caudal and posterior portions of the dorsal and anal black, with numerous 

 white spots. 



Whether this fish should be considered more than a local variety of 0. marulius may be questioned, both 

 are found along the sea coasts of India, and the former also in the Deccan. Dussumier brought it from 

 Malabar, and I found it was not uncommon in Canara, even more so than the 0. marulius. In Bengal proper, 

 Burma, and inland districts, except the Deccan, this form, wanting the ocellus on the tail, appears to be 

 absent. 



I have a stuffed specimen 10 inches long, which appears intermediate between the 0. marulias, 

 0. leucopwnctatus and 0. pseudommrulius, L. 1. 64, L. tr. Tfl-fo, head 4j, caudal 65, height of body 6 in the total 

 length. Colours as in 0. leucopwnctatus except the end of the dorsal fin is coloured as in Ham. Buch. figure of 

 0. wrahl, and the caudal is transversely barred in zigzag lines, leaving an indistinct ocellus at the upper edge of 

 its base, it appears to me as if it wei-e a hybrid between 0. marulius and 0. striatus, and may be 0. pseudomAwvlius. 



Habitat. — Coromandel and Western poasts of India, also in some of the rivers of the Deccan : it appears 

 to be found in China.* It attains 3 feet or more in length. The one figured is from a Malabar specimen. 



3. Ophiocephalus pseudomarulius. 



Giinther, Catal. iii, p. 478. 



B. V, D. 62, P. 17, V. 6, A. 36, C. 15, L. 1. 64, L. tr. ^U^. 



Length of head 3i, height, of body 4f in the total length to the base of the caudal fin.f Eyes— 6ia,meier 

 7 m length of head, 1 diameter from end of snout, and If apart. The greatest width of the head equals rather 

 more than 1/2 its length, and its height equals 1/2 of its length excluding the snout. The maxilla reaches to 

 beyond the vertical from the hind edge of the eye. Teeth— a,n inner row of six or eight rather widely separated 

 corneal ones in the lower jaw. i%is— dorsal commences above the base of the pectoral, its posterior rays are 

 the highest, and they exceed those of the anal. Pectoral [1/2 as long as the head: ventral 3/4 of pectoral.] 

 Scales— the plate-Uke ones on the summit of the head of moderate size, 16 rows between snout and base of dorsal 

 fin : 10 between eye and angle of preopercle : those on the head roughened in lines which externaUy are paraUel 

 with their outer edges, whilst those on the body are roughened in arched ridges which converge to a line along 

 the centre of each, the outer edge of those on the body smooth. CoZows— gray superiorly, becoming lighter 



• Since the above was written I have seen a fine specimen in the British Museum from the Cauvery River 



«n,„5n»^ t JkL'^'^V^^^^ J""T'' ,'" '^^ ^"!''^ ^"'^T ""^"S much damaged, the length of the caudal fin (of which not half 

 remains^ has been omitted The pectorals and ventrals are likewise broken, whilst the dorsal and anal are dried down to the body so 

 that being unable to count them, Dr. Gunther's enumeration has been copied. The proportions within brackets are likewise from Dr. 



