454 PHTSOSTOMI. 



TDOsteriorlv Pectoral spine one fourtli longer tkan that of tlie dorsal and serrated on bott edges, most strongly 

 intemaUT.' Ventral extends twb-thirds of the distance to the anal : caudal deeply forked, its outer rays being 

 prolonged. S/an— covered with tubular pores. OoZows- brownish, banded with darker: fins yellow with 



black bands. , . /^ j i-r ■ % j 



HaUtat.—N&ga. Hills from whence the smgle specimen (figured hfe-size) was procured. 



Genus, 4 — Rita, Bleeher. 



Oogri/as, Day. 



BramcUostegals eight. Gill-openings with a free posterior edge amd not confluent with the sUn of the isthmus. 

 Mouth transverse, upper jaw the longer, nostrils on either side sul-contiguous, hut the pavr on one s^de widely separated 

 from that on the other. Byes subcutaneous, .without free circular margins. Barbels six, a minute paw at the posterior 

 nostrils, a maxUlary and a mandibular pair. Teeth villiform in both jaws or mixed with molarform ones %n the 

 mandibles, molarform on the palate. One strong spine and six rays m first dorsal fin, the adipose and the anal of 

 moderate lengths. Ventral posterior to the base of the dorsal, and having seven or eight rays : camdal forked. Aw. 

 vessel not enclosed in bone, with or without a posterior prolongation. The ova are mmoh larger than inMacrones, but 

 very much smaller than in. Arius and its allies. A strong cubito-humeral process protects the pectoral sprne when it 

 is flexed along the side of the body. i.- \ j -n ' p 



Geographical distribution.— Large rivers of Sind, India (except its southern portions) and Burma far 



above Mandalay. , , -, t <■ . j i 



Jjses—iood for the lower classes. It retains life long subsequent to its removal trom water, and can be 



conveyed fresh for long distances. 



SYNOPSIS OF SPECIES. 



A. Some of the posterior teeth in the lower jaw molarform. 



1. Mta Buchanam. Eye, 8 to 10 diameters in length of head. Patches of teeth in palate wide apart. 

 Dorsal spine in the adult as long or longer than the head, entire anteriorly. Indus and affluents, also Jumna, 

 Ganges and Trrawaddi. 



2. Bita pavimentata. Eye, 5i to 6 diameters in length of head. Patches of teeth m palate close together. 

 Dorsal spine as long as head excluding the snout, entire anteriorly. Deccan, throughout Kistna and its 

 tributaries. 



3. Bita chrysea. Eye, 4 diameters in the length of head. Patches of teeth in palate close together in 

 their front halves. Dorsal spine longer than the head, coarsely serrated anteriorly in its whole extent. Orissa. 



B. Teeth in lower jaw villiform or cardiform. 



4. Bita hastata. Eye, 4^ to 5 diameters in length of head. Patches of teeth in palate wide apart. 

 Dorsal spine as long or longer than the head, serrated anteriorly in its lower third. Deccan, throughout the 

 Kistna and its tributaries. 



A. Some of the posterior teeth in the lower jaw molarform. 



1. Eita Buchanani, Plate CIII, fig. 1 (semi-aiAilt) , 2 (immature), and Plate CIV, fig. 2 {young). 



Pimelodus rita, Ham. Buoh. Fish. Ganges, pp. 165, 376, pi. xxiv, f. 63. 



Arius ritoides, Cuv. and Val. xv, p. 92 (young). 



Arius rita, Cuv. and Val. xv, p. 88, pi. 429. 



Bita Buchanomi, Bleeker, Prod. Silur. p. 66, and Beng. p. 123, t. 3, f. 1. 



Bita crucigera, (Owen)* Giinther, Catal. v, p. 92. 



Nga-htway, Burmese. 



B. viii, D. i/0, P. 1/10, V. 8, A. 12-13 (V), C. 19. 



Length of head 4 to 4|, of caudal 5, height of body 5^ to 6 in the total length. JEyes — diameters 8 to 

 10 in the length of head, 3 diameters from the end of snout and 4^- apart. The greatest width of the head 

 equals its length behind the nostrils, whilst its height is a Httle less. Upper surface of the head covered with 

 skin except a strip anterior to the base of the occipital process, that bone, the scapular and cubito-humeral 

 processes are granulated, the occipital process nearly as long as wide at its base, notched anteriorly to receive the 

 basal bone of the dorsal fin and which is nearly as long as the occipital process. Upper jaw the longer : width 

 of the mouth nearly equals half the length of the head. Cubito-humeral process more pointed in young than' 

 in adult specimens and about 3/4 the length of the head. Barbels — the nasal short : the maxillary nearly reach 

 the end of the head, and the mandibular ones almost as far. Teeth — villiform in the upper jaw, also in 

 the anterior portion of the mandible, and in an outer row along either ramus, whilst internally are two or three 

 rows of rounded teeth, the most posterior of which are the largest : in two elliptical patches of rounded ones 

 on the palate, which are wide asunder along the median line but coalesce anteriorly. Fins — dorsal spine very 

 strong and slightly serrated posteriorly in its upper portion, its length varies being shortest in the immature,! 

 it is generally as long as the head (except in the young) or even 1/3 longer in adults, especially in those from 



* If the specific or even the generic name of Indian fishes given in Owen's Catalogne of specimens in the Musenm of the 

 College of Surgeons, or in his comparative anatomy, are to be admitted into Zoological literature, it will multiply synonyms without any 

 corresponding advantage. Perhaps however this flsh should be named B. ritoides. 



t A specimen from Sind 2-8 inches long has the dorsal spine as long as head without the snout, and not reaching the base of the 

 adipose fin. 



