Ophiocephalus. gangetic fishes. 63 



which by La Cepede is considered as the Ophiocephalus striatus. 

 I should, however, have taken the sol and chena for fishes be- 

 longing to the same species, had not the fishermen of Goyal- 

 para, where both are very common, considered them as distinct 

 fishes. 



Except in colour the chena differs in nothing essential from 

 the sol ; and, as it has been described by Dr Russell, I need 

 not enter into any farther detail. 



3d Species. — Ophiocephalus lata. Plate XXXIV. Fig. 18. 

 An ophiocephalus with about thirty rays in the back fin, 

 and with many dark belts on the back, descending to a longi- 

 tudinal dark irregular stripe, which passes through the eye to 

 the tail. 



Except in colours this fish differs little from the 0. punctatus 

 of Bloch, (Ichth. Tome X. p. 114, PI. CCCLVIII.) which name 

 La Cepede (Hist, des Poissons, Tome III. p. 554) has most 

 wantonly changed to the barbarous Karrowey, that does not 

 differ from Gorayi, the name given in Bengal to the young 

 fish, while the adult is called Lata. The colour of the fish, as 

 described by La Cepede, being of an uniform dirty white, with 

 many small spots, can neither be reconciled to that of the 

 Lata, nor to that of the 0. punctatus of Bloch, which has its 

 back of an uniform black colour ; and in the account both of 

 La Cepede and of Bloch the jaws are stated to be of equal 

 lengths, which is not the case in any ophiocephalus that I have 

 seen. 



The Lata of Bengal, in the Tamul language, was called Mota 

 by those whom I consulted ; but the Muttah of the Telingas, 

 evidently the same name, is referred by Dr Russell to the 

 0. striatus of Bloch, while the O. punctatus of the latter author 

 is referred by Dr Russell to his sowarah, (Indian Fishes, Vol. 



