PLOTOSTJS.— EUTROP1US. 279 



Plotosus castaneus, Bleok. Nat. Tijdscbr. Ned. Ind. ii. 1851, p. 490. 

 Plotosus arab, Bleek. Atl. Ichth. ii. p. 98, pi. xcv. fig. 2 (18G2) ; Day, Fish. Ind. 

 p. 483, pi. cxii. fig. 4 (1878). 



Depth of body 6£ to 8 times in total length, length of head 4^ to 

 5 times. Snout rounded, feebly projecting beyond mouth, its length 

 equal to interorbital width ; eye supero-lateral, 5 to 6 times in length of 

 head ; lips papillose ; teeth large. Nasal and inner mandibular barbels 

 1 to i length of head, maxillary and outer mandibular f to f . Gill- 

 rakers rather long, closely set, about 20 on lower part of anterior arch. 

 Dorsal I 4-5, 85-100; anal 70-80; spine strong, serrated in front and 



Fig. 229. 



aggpa^WM 





■*^™fcflsS?3"*@ilS9 a '*S' 



Plotosus anyuillaris. 

 Indian Ocean (after Da}', Fish. Ind.). §. 



behind, \ to ^ length of head. Pectoral about -J length of head, with 

 strong but short spine serrated on both sides. Ventral 1^ to If times 

 as distant from caudal as from end of snout. Dark brown, usually with 

 two or three bluish-white longitudinal streaks on each side, at least in 

 the young. 



Total length 250 millim. 



Indian Ocean and Western Pacific, as far north as Japan. 



1-2. Yg. Gulf of Suez. R. MacAndrew, Esq. (P.). 



3-5, 6. Hgr. & yg. Zanzibar. Sir L. Playfair (P.). 



7. Hgr. Rodriguez. G. Gulliver, Esq. (P.)' 



8. Skel. ? 



9. EUTROPIUS. 



Mull. & Trosch. Hor. Ichthyol. iii. p. 6 (1849) ; Giinth. Cat. Fish. v. p. 52 (1864); 

 Bouleng. Poiss. Bass. Congo, p. 266 (1901), and Fish. Nile, p. 306 (1907). 



Body moderately elongate, strongly compressed, the prsecaudal region 

 short. Dorsal fin short, with a spine and 5 or 6 branched rays ; a very 



