128 ACANTHOPTERYGII. 



black blue-edged ocellus on the opercles, a blue line along the dorsal and anal fins which, as well as the caudal, 

 have a light edge : blue spots on soft dorsal, anal and caudal fins. Red Sea, through those of India to the 

 Malay Archipelago. 



1. Plesiops nigricans, Plate XXXI, fig. 5. 



Pharopteryx nigricans, Rupp. Atl. p. 15, t. iv, f. 2, and X. W. Pische, p. 5. 



Plesiops ccendeo-lineatus, Rupp. N. W. Fische, p. 5, t. ii, f. 5 ; Bleeker, Amboina, iii, p. 110 ; Gunther, 

 Catal.' iii, p. 363. 



Plesiops melas, Bleeker, Verh. Bat. Gen. xxii, Bali, p. 9. 



Plesiops corallicola, (K. and v. H.) Bleeker, Sumatra, ii, p. 280; Gunther, Catal. iii, p. 364; Day, Proc. 

 Zool. Soc. 1870, p. 685 ; Kner, Xovara Fische, p. 214. 



Plesiops nigricans, Gunther, Catal. iii, p. 363; Klunz. Verh. z. b. Ges. Wien, 1871, p. 517. 



B. vi, D. £.$-, P. 21, V. 1/4, A. |, C. 16, L. 1. 23-28, L. tr. 2J/10. 



Length of head from 4/15 to 1/4, of pectoral 2/11, of caudal 2/9, height of body 2/9 of the total length. 

 Eyes — diameter 1/4 to 1/5 of length of head, 3/4 to 1 diameter from end of snout, and 1 apart. Snout obtuse. 

 The maxilla reaches to behind the posterior edge of the orbit. Teeth — villiform in the jaws, vomer and 

 palatines, none on the tongue, the outer row of teeth in the upper jaw are usually slightly enlarged. Fins — 

 dorsal spines much shorter than the rays, the interspinous membrane (which extends beyond the tips of each 

 spine) deeply emarginate, soft portion of the fin and also of the anal pointed : two outer ventral rays elongated : 

 third anal spine the longest : caudal pointed. Scales — finely ctenoid in the last half of the body. Colours — 

 brownish, each scale on the body with a blue centre, some of those on the shoulder and head with several blue 

 spots. Opercle with a large black blue-edged ocellus. A blue band along the dorsal and anal fins : dorsal, 

 caudal and anal with a white margin : soft dorsal and anal with blue streaks in the direction of the rays, they 

 are also present on the caudal but in the form of transverse blotches. 



Habitat. — From the Red Sea, through those of India to the Malay Archipelago and beyond. It is very 

 common at the Andaman islands, attaining at least 6 inches in length. 



Second group — Nandina. 

 Pseudobranchiae concealed or absent : palatine and vomerine teeth : ventral with five rays. 



Genus, 2 — Badis, Bleelcer. 



Branchiostegals six : pseudobranchice apparently absent. Eyes lateral. Mouth protractile. Opercle with one 

 sharp spine, none of the other bones of the head armed. Villiform teeth on the jaws, vomer and palatines, absent 

 from the tongue. A single dorsal fin, the spinous portion being of much greater extent than that of the soft: anal 

 with three spines, its rayed portion similar to that of the dorsal. Scales ctenoid, of moderate size. Lateral-line 

 interrupted or absent. Air-vessel large and simple. Pyloric appendages absent. 



Geographical distribution.— Fresh waters of the hills and plains of India and Burma. 



Hamilton Buchanan observed of his two species of Badis, that " the two following species I refer to the 

 genus Labrus, although their almost total want of teeth would perhaps require their form in g a distinct genus. 

 Xotwithstanding the form of their tail fins, they approach nearer the Labrus malapterus of Bloch, (Ichth. t. ix, 

 p. 26, pi. 296, f. 2) than to any other fish described by that author," p. 70. 



SYNOPSIS OP SPECIES. 



1. Badis Buchanani, D. 1 f:^- 7 , A. -^ T , L. 1. 26-32 interrupted. Purplish and banded, or irregularly 

 spotted or blotched. Fresh waters of India and Burma. 



2. Badis clario, D. V*>-A £ ( L. 1. 26-30 absent. Stone colour, with several dark vertical belts, most being 

 in the posterior half of the body. Bengal, Behar and Western ghauts. 



1. Badis Buchanani, Plate XXXI, fig. 6. 



Labrus badis, Ham. Buch. Fish. Ganges, pp. 70, 368, pi. 25, fig. 23. 

 Badis Buchanani, Bleeker, Verh. Bat. Gen. xxv, t. 2, f. 3 ; Gunther, Catal. iii, p. 367. 

 Kala-poo-ti-ah and Chiri, Punj. : Kundala and Ka-sundara, Tel. : Kahlee-poee and Bundei, Ooriah: Nabat 

 and Ran-doh-nee, Assam. : Pin-lay-nga-ba-mah and Nga-mee-loung, Burm. 



B. vi, D. if3£, P. 12, V. 1/5, A. &, C. 16, L. 1. 26-32, L. tr. 2|/8. 



Length of head 2/9 to 1/5, of pectoral 1/5, of caudal 2/9, height of body 2| to 2/9, in the variety figured, 

 in the total length. Form of body an elongated oval, sides compressed. Eyes — diameter 3f (3/11) of the 

 length of head, 2/3 of a diameter from end of snout, and 1 apart. The maxilla reaches to below the front edge 

 of the orbit : lower jaw slightly the longer. Teeth — villiform in jaws, vomer and palatines, also on pre-sphenoid 

 and epi-hyal. Fins— -spines somewhat slender, the soft portion of the fin rather elevated and pointed : anal 

 spines short, its soft portion similar to that of the dorsal : caudal pointed. Variations, as in other Acanthopte- 

 rygian fresh-water fishes, exist in the number of spines and rays ; in Bengal and Madras the formula is generally 

 D. if:! 7 , A. 6? T > L- 1- 26-28, but in Assam and Burma it is mostly as follows: D. V-tt> 8 , A. f, L. 1. 28-33. 



