1849.] Catalogue of Malayan Fishes, 1293 



Gen. Chatoessus, Cuvier, 1829. 



Mouth small, without teeth ; muzzle projecting ; on the upper jaw 

 a notch and a corresponding tubercle on the lower ; the superior combs 

 of first branchial arches unite with those of the opposite side, forming a 

 pennated point under the palate ; body short, deep, oval ; in some 

 species the posterior dorsal ray elongated. 



Chatoessus chacunda, (Buchan. Ham.) 



Clupanodon chacunda, Buchan. Ham., 246, 383. 



Chatoessus chacunda, Cuv. and Val. XXI. 111. 



Head above and back sea-green, minutely dotted with black ; sides 

 and abdomen silvery or pale golden ; the centre of the scales of the upper 

 third of the sides minutely dotted with black, forming five very pale 

 blackish longitudinal lines ; behind the upper part of the opercle a large 

 black spot ; cheeks and opercles golden ; caudal yellow, sparingly dotted 

 with black ; rest of the fins hyaline whitish ; dorsal dotted with black. 

 Iris golden dotted with black. 



D 19, C 19f, A 20, V 7, P 15, Br. VI. 



Habit. — Sea of Pinang, Malayan Peninsula. 



Moluccas, Java, Malabar, Gangetic estuaries. 



Total length : 6 inch. 



The length of the head is contained 4f times in the total. The 

 horizontal diameter of the eye is J of the length of the head ; the 

 distance across the forehead slightly exceeds one diameter. The greatest 

 vertical diameter, in front of the dorsal, is 2f in the total length. The 

 body is covered by 13 longitudinal series of scales, the horizontal diameter 

 of which is about \ of the vertical. A series between the gill-opening 

 and the caudal contains from 36 to 39 scales. The dorsal occupies the 

 last of the anterior half of the total length ; the fourth ray, the longest, 

 equals the extent of the base, which is f of the head ; the last ray is \ 

 of the fourth. The caudal is deeply cleft ; the posterior margin of each 

 lobe is arched ; the length is 3J in the total. The first ray of the anal 

 is placed at equal distance from the first ventral and the root of the 

 caudal ; the fin is very low ; its extent equals that of the dorsal. The 

 ventrals are placed opposite the middle of the dorsal. The pectorals 

 are f of the length of the head. Single individuals occur, but rarely, 

 at Pinang. 



