1096 Catalogue of Malayan Fishes. [Nov. 



black, so as to appear blackish ; anterior third of pectorals pale reddish 

 yellow, the rest blackish. Iris silvery blue, blackish towards the 

 orbit. 



Young. Head above, back and naked point of the tail silvery bluish ; 

 the rest of the body shining silvery; dorsal and pectorals yellowish 

 white, minutely dotted with black like the adult, without, however, 

 acquiring the blackish general appearance of the latter. 



D 127 to 133, P 11, Br. VII. 



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



Chusan, Canton River, Coromandel, Bay of Bengal, Gan- 

 getic estuaries, Malabar, Djetta, (Red Sea,) Java, Celebes, 



Madura. 



Total length : 2 feet 8 inch. 



The length of the head, measured from the symphysis of the lower 

 jaw to the termination of the opercle, is \ of the total. The diameter 

 of the eye is \ of the length of the head, or ^ of the vertical diameter 

 of head through the eye itself. In the upper jaw appear on each side 

 upwards of 15 distant teeth, of which the anterior pair which are pre- 

 sent in the very young ones only, are directed forwards. Behind these 

 appear a pair, or a single lower arched tooth, the posterior part of the 

 point of which is barbed. Next follow 3 or 4 very small lancet-shaped, 

 behind which is a very long arched, half-barbed tooth. The rest of 

 the space is occupied by some distant lancet-shaped teeth, of which 

 those in the middle are the largest. On each side of the symphysis 

 of the lower jaw appears an arched tooth, like the corresponding one 

 of the upper jaw, but shorter. Behind the tooth is a vacant space, 

 followed by upwards of 12 lancet-shaped teeth, which with the exception 

 of one or two half-barbed in the middle, are smaller than the corres- 

 ponding of the upper jaw. Along the margin of each palatal is a series 

 of velvety teeth. The tongue is small, oval, a little pointed, and smooth. 

 The anterior dorsal ray is \ of the length of the head. The greatest 

 vertical diameter of the body is generally y 1 ^, but in the adult TT of the 

 total length. This species is excessively numerous at all seasons in 

 the Straits of Malacca and in the estuaries of the Ganges. The com- 

 mon length is about one foot, and but a solitary individual of 2 feet 

 8 inch was observed at Pinang. The fish is consumed fresh, but chiefly 

 dried, by the natives, and forms in the latter state an article of exporta- 



