1849.] Catalogue of Malayan Fishes. 1 00 1 



Gen. Therapon, Cuv. and Vol. 1829. 



Preopercle toothed, opercle terminating in a strong spine ; dorsal 

 fin deeply emarginated between the spinous and soft part ; the external 

 series of teeth stronger than the rest, conical ; teeth of the vomer apt 

 to fall out ; airvessel divided by a stricture in two compartments. 

 Therapon trivittatus, (Buchanan Ham.) 



Russell CXXVI. Keelputa. 



Coius trivittatus, Buchan. Ham. 92, 3/0. 



Therapon puta, Cuv. and Yal. III. 131, and 144, (" un therapon, 



[le trivittatus]. ,, ) 

 Icon. Pterapon trivittatus, Gray: 111. Ind. Zool. II. PI. 88, Fig. 1. 

 Pterapon trivittatus, (Syn. Therapon theraps) Richardson's Report, 



[1845, 238. 



Therapon puta, Bleeker : Verh. Batav. Gen. XXII. 23, 50. 



Head above and back pale greyish green, sides silvery, abdomen 

 white ; from the first dorsal ray to the middle of the base of the soft 

 part a brownish or black slightly downward arched band ; a second 

 from the nape of the neck towards the root of the upper margin of the 

 caudal fin ; a third, paler, from the opercle to the centre of the caudal ; 

 fin-membranes white, upper half of the membrane between the six 

 anterior dorsal spines, and in some between the ninth and tenth, black ; 

 the upper margin of the soft dorsal with one or two black spots ; 

 caudal with a central horizontal blackish band, above and below which 

 two, more or less distinct, oblique black bands ; posterior half of anal, 

 and anterior half of ventral fins pale ochre. Iris golden ; pupil broad 

 lanceolate with the apex forward. 



D 11/10, C 17f, A 3/8, V 1/5. P 13, Br. VI. 



Habit. — Sea of Pinang, Singapore, Malayan Peninsula. 

 Bay of Bengal, estuaries of the Ganges, Batavia. 



Total length, 6 inch. 



This species is well marked by three or four teeth at the angle of 

 the preopercle, conspicuously larger than the rest. Buchanan Hamil- 

 ton describes Coius trivittatus (1. c. 93), as having " the four lower 

 toothlets" (of the preopercle) "larger than the others." In his dupli- 

 cate series of drawings is a correct representation of this species, marked 

 in his handwriting as " Holocentrus Katkaya" Buchanan's drawing 

 is evidently the original of the figure in Hardwicke's Illustrations 



6 n 2 



