290 gangetic fishes. Order V. 



The head is oval, and of moderate size. The nose is dotted, 

 and projects a little beyond the mouth, v/hich is of a moderate 

 size. The jaws protrude in opening. The lips are fleshy, pen- 

 dulous, and smooth-edged. The nostrils are high, and far back 

 towards the eyes. The eyes are high, convex, and of moderate 

 size, with oval pupils, their longest diameters being vertical. 

 The gill-covers are rounded behind, and smooth-edged, and do 

 not conceal their membranes. 



Above the ventral fins there is scarcely any scale-like appen- 

 dant. The lateral line commences at the upper end of the gill- 

 cover, and is bent slightly down. The vent is behind the 

 middle. 



The dorsal fin occupies nearly the middle of the back, and 

 slopes backward : the first of its rays is short, slender, and close- 

 ly conjoined to the second, which is also undivided : the others 

 are branched, and the last of them is divided to the root. 

 The pectoral fins are much shorter than the head : each has 

 eighteen rays. The ventral fins are at some distance from each 

 other, and about as large as the pectorals ; each contains nine 

 rays. The fin behind the vent, on the middle of the tail, slopes 

 backward : the first of its rays is short, and adheres to the se- 

 cond, which, like the first, is undivided : the others are branch- 

 ed, and the last is divided to the root. The fin of the tail is di- 

 vided into two lobes, and contains nineteen distinct rays, be- 

 sides some short compacted ones on each side. 



32d Species. — Cyprinus cursa. 



A proper Cyprinus, with two tendrils ; with sixteen rays in 

 the fin of the back, and eight in that behind the vent ; and 

 with small scales. 



This, with the preceding, and two following species, on ac- 

 count of their small scales and size, have a considerable affinity 



