1332 Catalogue of Malayan Fishes, [Dec. 



the distance from the muzzle to the eye. The membrane is very short 

 and completely envelops the minute slender second spine. The furrow 

 of the back is very short and not intended to receive the first spine, 

 which can but partially be laid down, so as not to touch the back, by 

 reclining the second. The distance from the first spine to the poste- 

 rior dorsal fin is undulating, gradually ascending, and equals the dis- 

 tance from the muzzle to the first spine. All the rays of the posterior 

 dorsal are undivided, with minute spines ; the first is but little shorter 

 than the second and third, the longest, which are § of the first dorsal 

 spine. The succeeding rays gradually decrease ; the base is very 

 sloping ; its extent equals the distance from the first dorsal spine. The 

 distance from the caudal is \ of the base. The anal fin is placed op- 

 posite to the posterior dorsal which it resembles. The caudal is broad 

 rounded ; in individuals from 5 inches in length and more, the upper, 

 undivided ray, and the adjoining half of the second, divided one, project 

 beyond the others, and form a kind of short filament. The length of 

 the central rays are in young individuals \, in older 4^, in the total. The 

 pectorals are rounded, \ of the length of the head. The pelvic spine 

 is strong, nearly \ of the total length, and very protractile. Near the 

 scarcely projecting apex is a deep naked incision in the anterior margin, 

 with five strong upwards directed thorns. At the incision there is no 

 joint in the spine, but there is one a little lower down, so that the 

 thorny apex of the spine is freely moveable both forwards and back- 

 wards. The figure in Regne Animal incorrectly represents the pelvic 

 spine with two backwards moveable pieces. The dewlap is large, tri- 

 angular, with the lower part arched, scaleless and half transparent ; in 

 it are enveloped upwards of 33 tendinous lines, the points of which 

 slightly project beyond the margin ; as many of them are divided, they 

 have the appearance of rays. The shape of the expanded dewlap is in 

 early age triangular ; with age the posterior angle becomes truncated. 

 The base of the triangle equals the length of the pelvic spine ; the arched 

 lower margin is by one third shorter. When the dewlap is expanded, 

 the vertical diameter at the first dorsal spine is contained 1 T 9 ^- times in 

 the total length ; between the posterior dorsal and the anal it is 2\. 



The whole body is covered with minute crowded, backwards directed 

 spines ; near the upper and lower margin of the tail appears a longitu- 

 dinal series of four larger scales, each armed with a short but strong 



