Cypririus. gangetic fishes. 261 



ver beneath, with a gloss on the sides changing from green to 

 purple. Above the insertion of each pectoral fin is a greenish 

 spot, and at the end of the tail there is another. The fins are 

 diaphanous and pale green, and, with most parts of the fish, are 

 covered with black dots. 



The head is sharpish, half oval, sloping less above than be- 

 low, and rather wider than the body. The month is small, and 

 descends obliquely. The jaws do not protrude in opening, and 

 are nearly equal in length ; but the under one is by a trifle the 

 longest. They are devoid of lips, but, in place of the upper, 

 are two minute bones entire on the edges. There is a slight 

 roughness on each jaw, which perhaps might give the fish a 

 place in the genus Cyprinodon. Each nostril, has one aper- 

 ture in the middle between the eye and jaw. The eyes are 

 large and globular. The gill-covers consist each of three plates, 

 end in a point, and conceal their membranes. 



The back slopes gently each way from the commencement of 

 the fin. The sides are convex. The belly forms an arch. The 

 lateral line descends obliquely with a curve parallel to and near 

 the belly. The scales are large, and easily removed. 



The fin on the back slopes very little. Its first ray is short, 

 and, together with the second, is undivided ; the others are 

 branched ; and the last is split to the root. The pectoral fins 

 are on the middle of the side, and are longer than the head, 

 each having twelve rays. The ventral fins are distant from each 

 other, and the first ray of each is undivided, and the others 

 branched. The fin behind the vent is more distant from that 

 organ than from the end of the tail, and its edge forms an arch. 

 Its first ray is very short, and, together with the two following, 

 is undivided ; the others are branched. The fin of the tail is 

 large, and divided into two lobes. 



