340 GANGETrc fishes. Order V. 



The Cotio (Koti) in the ponds and ditches of Bengal is a 

 pretty common fish, grows to about four inches in length, and 

 is full of bones. 



The form is deep, very much compressed, and somewhat like 

 a trapezium. The colour is above green, and below white with 

 a silver gloss, and somewhat diaphanous. At the commence- 

 ment of the dorsal fin is a small black spot, and under the fore 

 part of the lateral line there is a row of five or six others, 

 around which is a bluish shining depression. The eyes are 

 silver, stained above with dark green. 



The head is oval, blunt, and of moderate size : above it is 

 covered by a naked bone, on which is a depression in form of 

 a parallelogram. The mouth terminates the nose, descends ob- 

 liquely, and is small. The jaws are nearly equal, have no lips, 

 and protrude in opening. The nostrils are near the eyes, which 

 are large, and high up, with circular pupils. The membranes of 

 the gill-covers are half exposed. The bones supporting the 

 gills have on the inside a row of tubercles. 



Before the fin the back forms a sharp ridge, and slopes more 

 than the head. The lateral line runs straight above the mid- 

 dle of the side. The vent is before the middle. The scales ad- 

 here slightly, are small, and on the back are dotted. 



The dorsal fin is near the middle, and slopes backward : the 

 first of its rays is short ; the second, like the first, is undivided, 

 and is indented behind ; and the others are branched, the last 

 being divided to the root. The pectoral fins are low, nearly as 

 long as the head, and sharp above ; each contains sixteen rays, 

 of which the first is undivided. The ventral fins are small, and 

 the first ray of each is very short, and adheres to the second, 

 which is undivided. The anal fin occupies almost the whole 

 length of the tail, and slopes backward : the three first of its rays 

 are undivided, the second being longer than the first, and shorter 



