1849.] Catalogue of Malayan Fishes. 1385 



Foetus. Head above, back sides and fins rosy white, with a greyish 

 tinge along the back ; beneath white. Iris silvery light blue ; pupil 

 circular black. Total length : 1 ft. 0| inch. 



Young and Adult. Body and fins slate grey ; beneath white. Iris 

 golden. 



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



Coasts of France, English Channel, Mediterranean, Atlan- 

 tic, Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, Java, Madura, China 

 Seas, Japan, Brasilian Coast, Nantucket, Cayenne, South 

 Coast of Australia. 



Total length : 10 ft. 9 inch. 



The anterior dorsal commences immediately behind the termination 

 of the pectorals ; the extent of the base is considerably less than § of 

 the length of the anterior margin ; the upper and the posterior mar- 

 gins join in a narrow, not much elongated point. The posterior, much 

 smaller dorsal commences opposite the root of the anal, but terminates 

 a little before the latter ; both fins terminate in an elongated narrow 

 point. The distance from the commencement of the ventrals to that 

 of the pectorals is a little less than the distance between the commence- 

 ment of the ventrals and that of the caudal. The fourth and fifth 

 branchial openings are placed above the commencement of the pectorals. 

 All the teeth are trenchant, not denticulated ; those of the upper jaw 

 appear somewhat broader than those of the lower. The scales are 

 very minute with five or six keels. In the adult the anterior margin 

 of the head forms a nearly uninterrupted or slightly festooned arch 

 till it reaches the nostrils, where there is a more or less deep notch. 

 The posterior margin is nearly parallel to the anterior. The nostrils 

 open near the external part of the anterior margin of the head. From 

 the nostrils proceeds a fissure along the external third of the anterior 

 margin of the head. The length of the head, from the angle of the 

 mouth, is about ^ of the breadth, or a straight line drawn between the 

 eyes. The posterior margin of the head forms with the body an acute 

 angle. Single individuals occur at all seasons in the Straits of Malacca. 

 The largest examined was a female taken at Pinang in January 1845. 

 In her were observed thirty-seven living young, of which twenty were 

 males, seventeen females. 



8 p 2 



