FAMILY, VIII— NOTOPTERID^. es^i 



Family, VIII— NOTOPTERID^. 



PseudobranchisB absent. Body oblong, or more or less elongated and compressed. Tail prolonged and 

 tapering. Margin of the upper jaw formed by the premaxillaries mesially, and the maxillaries laterally. 

 Opercular apparatus incomplete, the subopercle being absent. A parieto-mastoid cavity on either side of the 

 head connected with the interior of the skull. Barbels absent. Dorsal fin, if present, single, and belonging to 

 the caudal portion of the vertebral column : ventrals rudimentary or absent : anal fin with numerous rays and 

 confluent with the caudal. Head and body with small scales. Lateral-line present. Abdominal edge 

 serrated anterior to the ventral fins. Stomach without any blind sac. Two pyloric appendages. Air-vessel 

 present, and sub-divided internally. Branchiostegal rays from 3 to 9. The ova fall into the cavity of the 

 abdomen before exclusion. 



Oeographical distribution. — -Fresh, and brackish waters of West Africa, also of the continent of India to 

 the Malay Archipelago. 



Genus, I — Notopteetjs, Laeepede. 



Mystug, sp. Ham. Bncli. : Xenomystus, Gianther. 



BroMcMostegalsfromS to 9. Oill-membrames partly united. Snout ohtuse, convex. Muciferous channels on 

 head well-developed. Cleft of mouth lateral. Preoperole and occasionally some [of the other bones of the head 

 serrated. Teeth in jaws, vomer, palatine and sphenoid hones, also on the tongue. Dorsal fw, present (Notopterus) 

 or absent (Xenomystus) . Ventrals when present, rudimentary and united together. Air-vessel dmided imternally, 

 with two horns anteriorly, which are in connection with the auditory organs : posteriorly it likewise ends in two 

 bra/nches which become dmided from one another by the hcemal spines. Intestines short. Ocecal pylori long. 



Oeographical distribution. — The species without dorsal fins appear to be confined to West Africa : the 

 remainder are Asiatic or African. 



SYNOPSIS OP SPECIES. 



1. Notopterus Ttapi/rat, A. 100-110. Scales on cheeks much larger than on body. Maxilla does not 

 extend beyond the hind edge of orbit. India to the Malay Archipelago. 



2. Notopterus chitala, A. 110-125. Scales on cheeks not much larger than on body. Maxilla extends far 

 beyond hind edge of orbit. Sind and India to the Malay Archipelago. 



1. Notopterus kapirat, Plate CLIX, fig. 4. 



Gymnotus notopterus, Pallas, Spec. Zool. 7, p. 40, t. vi, f. 2 ; Bonn. Tab. End. p. 37, pi. 25, f. 83 ; Gmel. 

 Linn. p. 1139. 



Ghipea siwura, Bl. Schn. p. 426. 



Notopterus kapirat, Lac6p. ii, p. 190 ; Gray, Zool. Misc. 1831, p. 16 ; Val. in Belanger, Voy. Ind. Or. p. 

 391, pi. 5, f . 1 ; Bleeker, Fotop. p. 55, t. vi, and Atl. Ich. vi, p. 146, t. 276, f. 1 ; Richard. Ich. China, p. 308 ;, 

 Jerdon, M. J. L. and Sc. 1849, p, 343 ; Giinther, Catal. vii, p. 480. 



Mystus kapirat, Ham. Buch. Fish. Ganges, pp. 235, 382 ; Gray and Hard. 111. Ind. Zool. 



MysiMs badjee, Sykes, Trans. Z. S. ii, p. 376, pi. 67, f. 2. ,^, , ^-.„ -„, , 



Notopterus Pallasii and Bontiawus, Cuv. and Val. xxi, pp. 130, 147, pi. 613; Bleeker, Ohiroc. p. 17. 



Moh, But and Pwrri, Punj. -. Moh, N.W. Prov. : Pholoe, Beng. : Amhutan-wahlah or ' Barber's knife' and 

 Ghota wahlah. Tarn. : Wallak-tattah, Mysore : PulU or ' a slice,' Goriah': Kan-doo-lee, Assam. : Nga-hpeh and 

 Nga-phe, Burm. 



B. Tiii, D. 7-8{i;f), P. 17, V. 5-6, A. 100-110, C. 19, L. r. 225, Vert. 15/54. 



Length of head 5 to 5^, of caudal fin 12, height of body 3i to 4 in the total length. %es— diameter 

 4* to 5 in the length of head, 2/3 to 1 diameter from the end of snout, and 1 apart. Dorsal profile not so convex 

 as that of the abdomen. The maxilla reaches to below the middle of the orbit. Preorbital serrated : lower 

 edge of preopercle with a double serrated margin. Teeth— ah external row of strong carved ones m either jaw, 

 with an internal finer one. Several rows of fine teeth in vomer and palate : some also present on the tongue. 

 f't««— dorsal commences nearly midway between the snout and end of the caudal fin. Scales— those on the 

 cheeks much larger than those on the body : about 28 serrations along the abdominal edge between the throat 

 and the insertion of the ventral fin. Colours— silYevj, darkest on the back : some ^oss ot yellow about the 

 head. Numerous fine grayish spots everywhere. Upper surface of dorsal whitish. J!.yes goMen 



Eabitat.—ETesh and brackish waters of India to the Malay Archipelago. Grow to Z teet or more m 

 length. 



