508 PHYSOSTOMI. 



Family— SALMONIDiE. 



PseudobranchisB present. Margin of the upper jaw formed by the premaxillaries and maxillaries. No 



barbels. A single rayed and posteriorly an adipose dorsal fin. Pyloric appendages usually present and 



mostly numerous. Body scaled, head scaleless. Air-vessel large, simple, and with a pneumatic duct. The 

 ova pass into the cavity of the abdomen before being excluded. 



Were this work strictly limited to the indigenous Fishes of India, the Family of Salmonidee should be 

 omitted, as the Hindoo Koosh is the nearest locality to Hindustan, where they are found.* But as the SaVmo 

 Levenensis and the cyprinoid Tinea vulgaris have been introduced into the waters of the Neilgherry lulls, where 

 they appear to be thriving in a wild state, I have considered it better to record them, in order to prevent 

 misconception as to how they came there, when they shall be rediscovered at a future date. 



In introducing exotic fishes, one of the first considerations must necessarily be to ascertain whether any 

 representatives of the Family are normally resident in the region it is desired to stock ? If such do exist, the 

 question arises, are they a thriving or a diminutive race ? It has been maintained that if the latter, the 

 chances of success are too small to render the attempt worth making, as the region is unsuited for their 

 development. 



India, however, is peculiarly situated. Doubtless at a remote period the continent to the south of the 

 Ganges was divided by the sea from the Himalayas, and therefore the entire absence of fresh- water Salmonidae 

 cannot be looked upon in either a favourable or an unfavourable aspect. I suggested to the Governor of 

 Madras, Sir William Denison, introducing trout into the waters of the NeUgherry hills by means of their ova 

 transported from Europe in ice. My attempt failed.f Wise after the event and may-be not anticipating that 

 it would be renewed, Dr. Giinther chronicled my failure, remarking as " has been foreseen by all acquainted 

 with the nature of Salmonoid fishes. "J 



Since then I have had no further opportunity to carry out my experiment, but the late Mr. Mclvor, of 

 the Government Gardens at Ootacamund, who assisted me in my endeavour, was so sanguine of eventual 

 success, that he resolved to try and bring out from Loch Leven some live fish. Always ready with an expedient 

 to meet changiug circumstances he succeeded in introducing trout, tench, gold carp and eels into the 

 NeUgherry hills. 



My figure is from a trout bred in a wild state, and captured on the Koondahs in 1876. For it I am 

 indebted to T. Sullivan Thomas, Esq., of the Madras Civil Service, who received it from Mr. Mclvor. Whether 

 the success will continue must depend on two causes, the first climatic, the second whether the breed will be 

 exterminated by man. 



Genus, 1 — Salmo. 



Definition as in the family .: pyloric appendages n/wmerous. 



Salmo levenensis, Plate CXVIII, fig. 3. 

 Walker : Tarrell : Giinther : Day, Journal Linn. Society, xii, p. 567. 

 This species is too well known to need description. 



Colours — twelve vertical bands demonstrating its being a young fish. The spots which are now black 

 were originally red. The nature of the water and the soil through which it flows exercise great influence on the 

 colour of fishes, and this specimen was bred in a clear hiQ stream. In Loch Leven, according to Mr. Pennell, 

 the trout have no red spots. 



Habitat. — Neilgherry hills, introduced from Loch Leven. 



* Salmo OrientaUs, McClelland, or 8. Omwnm, Kessler. 

 t Proceedings Zoological Society, 1867, p. 281. 

 % Zoological Eecord, 1867, p. 131. 



