FAMILY, I— SILUEID^. 479 



7. Callichrous pabda, Plate CXI, figs. 2 and 3. 

 Silwruspahda, Ham. Buot. Eish. Ganges, pp. 150, 374, t. 25, f. 47 ; Cav. and Val. xiv, p. 364. 

 Silmrus amastomus, Cuv. and Val. xiv, p. 863, pi. 410, (tcM mjmed). 

 Silwus IcrnigJiw, Heckel, Ksclie Kashmir, p. 82, t. xii, f. 5, 6 ; Blacker, Beng. p. 54. 

 Galliohrus vittabus, Swainson, Fishes, ii, p. 306. 



Wallago pabda and oMastorms, Bleeker, Beng. p. 64 ; Blyth, Proc. A. S. of Beng. 1858, p. 283. 

 OalUch/rous anastomus and pabda, GiJnther, Catal. v, p. 47. 

 SilwnoMhys larnigliur, Giinther, Catal. v, p. 36. 



Gryptopterus latovittatus, Playfair, P. Z. S. 1867, p. 16 (Mamdibula/r ba/rbels overlooked). 

 GalUckrous Egertonii, Day, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1871, p. 710. 

 Palho, Punj. ; Pabda, Beng. 



B. xii-xiT, D. 4-5, P. 1/11-13, V. 8, A. 64-60 {■^-^'), C 18. 



Length of head 6 to 6i, of caudal 8, height of body 5 to 5 J in the total length. Eyes — diameter 5 in 

 the length of head, li to li diameters from end of snout,~and 2i to 3 apart. The greatest width of the head 

 equals its length excluding the snout. The width of the gape of the mouth equals half the length of the head. 

 Lower jaw very prominent. Barbels — the maxillary reach the middle or end of the pectoral fin, the mandibular 

 to the hind edge of the orbit. Teei^— vomerine ones in two small oval patches, not confluent together. Fins — 

 pectoral spine as long as the postorbital portion of the head, or the head behind the middle of the eyes, serrated 

 internally, sometimes rather strongly, at other times feebly, or entirely smooth. Anal not confluent with the 

 caudal. Colours —these vary considerably, usually silvery glossed with gold, having a dark shoulder spot above 

 the middle of the pectoral fiii, and usually another close to the base of the tail. In some specimens the body is 

 covered with brownish blotches. At Jubbulpore I took specimens having a dark band along the upper portion 

 of the back, and a second along the lateral-line, leaving a light line from the gill-opening to the upper portion 

 of the Caudal fin. 



My reasons for uniting G. pabda (fig. 2), haviug a smooth pectoral spine, with G. anastomus (fig. 3), 

 having a serrated one, are as follows : — the proportions and number of rays are the same. Near Bheer Bhoom 

 in the Sone river I took four specimene of G. pabda, three had smooth pectoral spines, the fourth had the 

 pectoral spine on one side feebly serrated. In the Sunderbnnds* I found the two sorts together, also'in the 

 Brahmaputra, the amount of serrations varying considerably. Towards the Punjab and along the Indus in 

 Sind the serrations become very well developed, and the smooth spined sorts are comparatively rare. It is 

 evident that this condition of the spine is not a sexual one, and no less evident that it is due to some local 

 peculiarity. 



Habitat. — Punjab in the affluents of the Indus and along that river to its termination : at Hurdwar where 

 the Granges emerges from the Himalayas and along its waters in the Gangetic provinces, and Orissa, also from 

 DarjeeUng and the Brahmaputra in Assam. 



Genus, 13 — Wallago, Bleeker. 



BrtmcMostegals from fifteen to twenty-one. Oill-openirngs wide, the membrane not being confluent with the skim, 

 of the isthmus, and being rather deeply notched. Body elongated and compressed, the dorsal profile being nea/rly 

 straight. Head 'covered with soft skin. Cleft of mouth deep, extending to below or even behind the eyes. Snout 

 rather frod/uced : lower jaw a Utile the longer. Nostrils some distance apart, the posterior small and patent, the 

 anterior sUghtly tubula/r. Barbels fou/r, one maxillary and one mandibular pairs. JEyes above the level of the angle of 

 the mouth, and not covered with skim. Teeth nmmierous and cajrdiform in both jaws, and in am, obUgue patch on either 

 side of the vomer, none on the palatines. A short spineless dorsal, situated above or slightly before the ventrals ; no 

 adipose fin : anal long, terminating near the caudal, which last consists of two rounded lobes. Ventrals mth 

 from eight to eleven rays. Air-vessel heart-shaped, situated m the abdomen, amd attached to the bodies of the second 

 to thefov/rth vertebrce ; amlla/ry pore, if present, mvrmte. 



Geographical distribution. — Fresh waters of India, Bujma, and the East Indian Archipelago. 



Uses. — Good eating, and thrives well in tanks, especially if they have grassy margins. 



SYNOPSIS OF INDIVIDUAL SPECIES. 



]. Wallago attu, D. f, A. 86-93. Silvery. India and Burma. 



1. Wallago attu, Plate CXI, fig. 4. 



Silu/rus attu and athu, Bloch, Schneider, p. 378, t. 75. 

 Sih/rus, Russell, Fish. Vizag. and Wallago, ii, p. 60, pi. 165. 



Silmus boalis, Ham. Buch. Fish. Ganges, pp. 164, 376, pi. 29, f. 49 ; Jerdon, M. J. L. and So. 1849, 

 p. 335. 



* I have to thank the Captain of the steamer in which I trarelled through the Sunderbnnds for having a bag net set whenever 

 we were at anchor : it was attached to a spar fixed at right angles to the vessel, and sunk to about two feet below the surface. The 

 strong tides swept into it a quantify of small fish and Crustacea. The net was examined every two hours. 



