FAMILY, V-CTPRINID^. 529 



.Eahitai.—Pvohahlj Northern India, two specimens exist in the Calcutta Musetun, the longest being 

 3| inches. 



Genus, 4— Oebintjs, McGlellamd. 

 SeMzothorax, Sect. A, and ScMsopyge, sp. Heckel. 



Abdomen rownded. Snout romided, mouth inferior and tramsverse, mcmddbles sTwrt, broad, amd flat, loosely 

 joined together at the symphysis : ma/rgin of the lower jaw hamng a ha/rd, horny coverimg, thickest internally, and a 

 thick fringed lower lip with a free posterior edge, formimg a sucker. Barbels four. Pharyngeal teeth 'pointed, hooked, 

 6, 3, 2/2, 3, 5. Dorsal fm rather short, and a/rising opposite the ventrals, its last widimded ray osseous, serrated 

 or entvre : anal short. Scales very small; the vent and base of the anal fmin a sheath covered by an enla/rged tiled 

 taw of scales. Lateral-line passing to the centre of the base of the caudal fin. 



Although the serrated spine ia the dorsal fin is commonly termed the last vndimded ray or spine, such 

 has merely reference to its heing mibranched, fop in reahty this spine consists of two separate, compressed and 

 serrated bones attached one to the other iu their whole extent. 



It must also be noticed that too much stress must not be laid upon the comparative size of the tiled row 

 of scales to the diameter of the eye as such varies, as is easily explained. The number of scales remains the 

 same throughout the fish's life, and therefore their size continues to increase in accordance with that of the 

 body of the fish. The eye, however, does not continue iacreasing in the same proportion, so that a species in 

 which its diameter is say 4 in the length of the head in the young, is 6 or even 8 in that of the adult. It 

 naturally follows that the size of the tiled row of scales is often far greater in the adult in comparison to the 

 dimension of the eye than it is in the young. Likewise it is very common to find specimens in which the 

 height of the body is much less than normally exists, these appear half-starved or sickly fishes. 



Oeographical distribution. — Rivers and some lakes iu the Himalayan and sub-Hiinalayan region extending 

 to the confines of China.* These fishes are rarely found in the rivers of the plains at any distance from the 

 base of the mountain ranges. This Genus and the four succeeding ones of Sehizopygopsis, Sehizothorax, 

 Ptychobarbus, and Dipiychus, consist of Carps, scaleless or more or less covered with minute scales. A 

 membraneous slit exists anterior to the anal fin, which is laterally bounded by a row of vertically placed scales, 

 like eave-tnes, and which are continued along the base of the anal fin. They form the Schizothoeacinj; of 

 McClelland. 



SYNOPSIS OF SPECIES. 



1. OrevmiiS smuatus, D. 4/7, A. 3/5, Anal scales about 1/2 as large as orbit. Black spots on body. 

 Afghanistan, Punjab, Cashmere, and along the Himalayas. 



2. Orewms Edcha/rd-sonii, D. 3/8, A. 3/5. Anal scales 2/3 as large as orbit. Colours uniform. 

 Nepaul., 



3. Oreimis plagiostomMs, D. 3/8, A. 3/5. Anal scales about as large as orbit. Osseous dorsal ray weak. 

 Colours uniform. Afghanistan, Cashmere to Upper Assam. 



Oeographical distribution. — Throughout the Himalayan aiid sub-Himalayan range to Assam and the 

 ponfines of Chiua. 



1. Oreinus sinuatus, Plate CXXIV, fig. 4, 



Schizothoraoi sinuatus, Heckel, Fische aus Kaschmir, p, 21, t. 2. 



Orevrms mamlatus, McCleU., Ind. Cyp. pp. 274, 345, pi. Ivii, fig. 6, and Cal. J. N, H. ii, p. 580 ; Cuv. and 

 Val. xvi, p. 228. 



Oreinus sinuatus, Giinther, Catal. vii, p. 161. 



Oool-goolli and SomI, Punj. : Jis, Cash. 



B. iii, D. V, P- If, V. 10, A. »f^ C. 19, L. 1. 105, Vert. |f. 



Length of head 6J to 6, of caudal 5|, height of body 5i to 7| in the total length. %es— diameter 

 2/9 to 1/6 of length of head, 2 to 2^ diameters from end of snout, 2 to 2^ diameters apart, ahd almost entirely 

 situated in the front 1/2 of the head. Interorbital space rather convex, more so ia the adult than in the young : 

 snout rounded, with a very sHght appearance of pores. Mouth inferior, transverse : lower lip well developed, 

 rugose, entire, having a free posterior edge, and forming an adhesive sucker. The posterior edge may be 

 concave or slightly iobed in the middle or even straight. Inner side of lower lip covered with cartilage, which 

 is extended onto its inferior surface, where, however, it is not so horny. Barbels — of about equal length and not 

 quite so long as the eye. Pre-operclewith an emarginate posterior border. Teeth — pharyngeal, 5, 3, 2/2, 3, 5, 

 crooked, pointed. Fins — dorsal commences a little before the ventrals, and sHghtly nearer to the snout than it 

 does to the base of the caudal fin, its spine is rather strong, moderately serrated and rather longer than the 

 head without the snout, the fin is rather higher than the body below it, its last ray is divided into two. Pectoral 

 four.fifths as long as the head, and extendiug above halfway to the ventral, which last reaches two-thirds Of 



* Pr, Anderson brought a species of Oreimm from the confines of China when with the last Yuaam expedition. It is allied 

 to 0. simiatus and 0, Richwrdsorm, btit its body ia deeper, its scales more ovg,l in form and l^ger, 



3 T 



