Apodal Fishes of Bengal. 193 



contracting the fleshy lips of the upper jaw against the sides of the lower, 

 is enabled to inhale, or supply the branchial sacks with air. This done, 

 it descends, occasionally discharging a portion of the air which escapes 

 in bubbles to the surface of the water until the sacks are collapsed, when 

 after a time the animal again raises itself slowly to repeat the same 

 operation. 



One of the favourite positions of the animal is to remain floating 

 perpendicularly with the muzzle at the surface. In this position it 

 remains as if asleep, perfectly motionless for hours, like an inanimate 

 object. From this position it sometimes sinks unconsciously to the bot- 

 tom of the water ; and, after discharging the air, as already described, 

 again becomes lively, ascending to the surface, swimming and darting ac- 

 tively for a time in a vertical position, and again becomes torpid as before. 



The colour of the upper parts is dark olive-green, with small round 

 black spots dispersed equally over every part above the lateral line. 

 The lower parts of the body are yellow, mottled with lighter and 

 darker specks. 



The lateral line is white, and occasionally appears to be sunk, so as 

 to form a channel in either side. There are two other short white lines, 

 one extending from a few irregular little white streaks near the angle 

 of the mouth, forms a slight bend over the branchial region, and extends 

 a short way along the lower part of either side ; the other commences 

 with a slight reflex streak behind the eye, and extends a short way 

 between the last described streak and the lateral line. 



The vent is placed at a distance of three-fourths of the entire length from 

 the muzzle. The tail from thence becomes gradually compressed and 

 narrow. For the first-third of its length, the upper margin of the tail 

 is round, the remaining two-thirds of its length it is sharp-edged above, 

 representing the dorsal, and for a little more than one-third below, re- 

 presenting the anal fin ; but these are little more than narrow fringes 

 formed by the mere reflection of the skin in this situation. 



The body is covered on every part with fine oval imbricated naked 

 scales, except the lateral line, which is without them. These scales are 

 smooth, composed of radii and concentric lines parallel with the mar- 

 gin. They are very perceptible to the naked eye in the living animal. 

 They are I should think about half the size of the scales of the Euro- 

 pean tench. They are oval, broader at the free end than the other ; their 

 figure presents various degrees of obliquity, according to the part of the 

 body on which they are placed, as in ordinary fishes. See Jigs. 3, 6. 



The teeth are conical, sharp and hooked ; they consist of two rows 

 on the upper jaw; the outer row placed on the intermaxillaries is com- 



