284 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [No. 3. 



inuch thicker fish in proportion to its length ; the dorsal spine smaller, 

 and uniformly granulose anteriorly,— instead of shewing a narrow white 

 ridge, set off laterally with black, as in the aor ; the adipose dorsal 

 fin less elongated, but higher, with the same black spot posteriorly ; 

 occipital bony process more developed, and posterior to this a small bony 

 plate, not exceeding the occipital process in breadth (whereas the corre- 

 sponding oval plate in B. aor is fully twice as broad) ; at base of the first 

 short dorsal spine, a bone formed of two lateral triangles well united in 

 the middle, — whereas in B. aor the union of the two lateral triangular 

 bones is generally imperfect, and they are mostly quite distinct ; occasion- 

 ally, even in small specimens of B. aorelltjs, these bones are anchylosed 

 to the oval bone in front of them, — but never in B. aor. The palatal 

 teeth in B. aor are arranged in a subeven crescentic band ; whereas in 

 B. aoeellus they are in two lateral sub-triangular masses united in the 

 middle. Ten distinct soft rays to the pectorals and fourteen rays to the 

 ventrals. Colouring much the same ; but in B. aorellus there is a consi_ 

 derable admixture of black on the pectorals, ventrals, and membrane 

 of the dorsal fin, which does not occur in the other. The two species are 

 about equally common in the Calcutta bazar.* 



B. cavasius ; P. cavasius, B. H. Common : rarely exceeding 7 in. 

 long.f 



B. ten gar A; P. tengara, B. H. Common. 



B. gulio ; P. gulio, B. H. : B. albilabris, Val.J The Nuna Tengara 

 of the Bengalis, corrupted into Nonatora in the Histoire des Poissons, 

 Extremely common : attaining to about 10 in. long. 



* Another, closely akin, exists in the B. singhala (Platystoma singhala, 

 Sykes) ; and a fourth in the B. aorlntjs of Jacquemont. The latter is not 

 represented to have the conspicuous black spot on the adipose dorsal seen in the 

 others ; but neither is it represented in Jacquemont's figure of B. aor ! 

 Buchanan Hamilton's figure of B. aor represents a young specimen, but still the 

 dorsal spine is not represented of sufficient magnitude. There is also a B. 

 aorides, Jerdon, Madr. Journ. XV, 336, with maxillary cirri reaching to the 

 tail. In B. aorellus they reach to the middle of second dorsal. B. aor, B. 

 aorelltjs, and Osteogeniosus Cantori, are frequently attacked by an JEga, 

 which buries its head in the adipose flesh anterior to the second dorsal and the 

 caudal fins. 



f The nearly affined B. Jceletius, Yah, is enumerated from Calcutta by Br, 

 Bleeker. 



X Br. Bleeker adds, as synonymes, B. abbreviates and P.fuscus of the Histoire 



