Macrognathus. gangetic fishes. 29 



tongue is blunt, and free from the under jaw. The palate is 

 smooth. The nostrils are single. The eyes are far back in the 

 middle of the head. The gill-cover* are scaly. 



The tail is blunt. The vent is near the middle. The prickles 

 before the back fin are about thirty-seven ; before the anal fin 

 they are two in number. 



The back, tail, and anal fins can only be distinguished by 

 the rays of the tail being a little longer than the others. Those 

 in the back part are from eighty-three to eighty-five, those in 

 the tail seventeen, and those in the vent part from eighty-eight 

 to ninety. Each pectoral fin contains twenty-one divided rays. 



2d Species. — Macrognathus aculeatus. 



A macrognathus with several eye-like spots on the back fin, 

 which is distinct from that of the tail. 



Macrognathus aculeatus, La Cepede, Hist, des Poissons, Tome 

 II. p. 284. 



Ophidium aculeatum, Bloch, Ichth. Tome IV. p. 60, Planche 

 CLIX. fig. 2 ; Bonnaterre, Tail. Encycl. page 41, PI. XXVI. 

 fig. 90. 



This fish, if the native names are rejected, should be called 

 M. ocellatus. Every where in the Gangetic provinces it is found 

 in ponds, and grows from six to twelve inches in length. The 

 colour of the upper parts is greenish with black dots, of the un- 

 der yellowish. Above the lateral line, on each side, is a broad 

 whitish stripe. At the roots of the dorsal fin are from three 

 to seven eye-like spots, consisting of a black centre surrounded 

 by a yellow ring. On the back and anal fins are scattered 

 black dots, and two yellowish longitudinal stripes pass on the 

 former, one on the margin, the other on the middle. The tail 

 fin is spotted with yellow. 



In neither jaw are there any teeth. The lips are fleshy, with 



