1860.] Report on some Fishes received from the Sitang River. 165 



M. Valenciennes recognises Cobitis only, with the addition of Bali- 

 tora, Gray, to whieh he refers the Homaloptera of Kuhl and von 

 Hasselt ; but a Tenasserim speeies conforms in type to the H. ery- 

 throptera, K. et v. H., and diífers eonsiderably from true Balitora, 

 as the latter differs entirely from the Platycara of McClelland (as 

 originally constituted upon his Pl. basuta., which, as we have seen, 

 is a large-scaled Cyprin). The ordinary Loches have been commonly 

 arranged according to the presence or absence of a moveable forked 

 spine under or before the eye ; but Mr. McClelland divides them 

 according to the shape of the tail into Cobitis and Schistura, each 

 eomprising both spined and spineless speeies. The series now to 

 classify necessitates the adoption of further subdivisions and the 

 admission of some entirely nevv forms. 



I. — Botia, Gray ; founded on B. grakdis, Gray, figured in Hard- 

 wicke's ' Illustrations of Indian Zoology ;' to which have been rightly 

 added the (Colitis) geta and (C.) dario of B. Hamilton. These 

 have more the form of ordinary Cyprins, and a strongly forked tail : 

 the air-vessel as usual in the Carp family. We have now five speeies 

 in the museum, eomprising two hitherto undescribed vvhich nearly 

 approximate B. grandis, but have the muzzle less prolonged — so 

 that the distance from the eye to the muzzle is a fourth less. All 

 have a stout forked spine under each eye, of vvhich the second 

 or posterior prong is much longer than the anterior ; and their 

 colours are briglit black and yellow, with barred markings 011 the fins. 



1. B. grandis, Gray (neo ajpud McClelLmd, C. J. N. II. II, 586). 

 Of this we possess a blanched specimen from Almoreh, presented by 

 the late Major Li. Wroughton. 



2. B. nebulosa, nobis, n. s. Like B. grandis, but with the 

 face shorter (as described), and eighfc cirri not quite so strongly 



1 unnecessary coinage of new ñames. Thus Botta of Gray he terms Diacantha, 

 retaining two of li. Hamilton' s speeies which he refers to, viz. daeio and geta. 

 His Diacantha is moreover erroneously stated to have " the body destitute of 



¡ scales ;" which again is erroneously asserted of his Canthophrt/s, to which he 

 refers the C. guntea., B. H., by the new ñame viUatus. I doubt if any Loche 

 is scaleless. The ' circleof ñve' completed, of course a redistribution is necessarv 

 as often as any well-marked new form is brought to notice, and especially such 

 very strongly charaoteriáed generic forms as will be here described. 



