FAMILY, XXVII— GOBIIDiE. 209 



Body sub-cylmdrical. Eyes of moderate size. Upper jaw rather prominent, cleft of mouth nearly horizontal. 

 Teeth in the upper jaw small, in one row, mostly implanted in the gums, and as a rule moveable, their apices may 

 be compressed and dilated or bilobed : in the lower jaw they aire in one or two rows, if two the outer is fine and 

 moveable. Two dorsal fins, the first with six flexible spines : the caudal not united to the dorsal or the anal : ventrals 

 united, forming a dish, which is more or less adherent to the abdomen. Scales ctenoid, of varying size. 

 Air-vessel absent. 



Geographical distribution. — This genus has a wide range in fresh and brackish waters, having been 

 captured in the Mauritius, Bourbon, Burma, to the Malay Archipelago and beyond ; also in the West Indies. 



SYNOPSIS OF INDIVIDUAL SPECIES. 



1. Sicydium fasciatum, D. 6 | -^, A. 11, L. 1. 67, L. tr. 19. Brown, banded, spotted, and with dark fins. 

 Burma. 



1. Sicydium fasciatum, Plate LXIV, fig. 7. 

 B. iv, D. 6 | jL p. 17, V. 6, A. 11, C. 13, L. 1. 67, L. tr. 19. 



Length of head 5a, of caudal 5f, height of body 5J in the total length. Eyes — diameter 2/9 of 

 length of head, nearly 1| diameters from end of the snout, and If apart. Body subcylindrical : head rather 

 flattened superiorly, and broader than high, its breadth being equal to its length without the snout. Cleft of 

 mouth horizontal, extending to below the centre of the orbit : lips rather thick : snout overhanging the mouth. 

 No barbels. Teeth — in the upper jaw small, and implanted in the gums in a single row : the inner 

 row in the lower jaw large, conical, recurved, some distance apart, there being two canines near the symphysis, 

 also a minute row of sharp ones on the lower lip. Fins — dorsal spines rather filiform, and projecting beyond 

 the membrane, being 3/4 as high as the body beneath, and 1/3 higher than the second dorsal. Pectorals 

 nearly as long as the head : ventrals short, forming a complete disk, and not reaching half-way to the anal fin, 

 which latter is beneath the soft dorsal but lower than it. Caudal rounded. Scales — strongly ctenoid, somewhat 

 irregularly arranged, they extend forwards nearly as far as the eyes : those anterior to the dorsal fin (about 30 

 rows) and also in front of the anal, smaller than the others, and more or less cycloid. None on opercles or 

 cheeks. Colours —reddish-brown, with about six vertical darker bands on the body wider than the ground 

 colour : there are also some dark spots : its under surface is dirty yellowish-brown. Fins nearly black, with a 

 light, nearly white, edge. 



This Sicydium or Sicyopterus, Gill, is the most westerly species I am aware of on the continent of Asia. 



Habitat. — Burma, to 2a inches in length, the specimen figured is life-size. 



Genus, 3 — Apocetptes,* Guv. and Val. 



Branchiostegals four: pseudobranchioz rudimentary: gill-openings of moderate width. Body elongated. 



Teeth conical in a single fixed row in either jaw, with usually a pair of canines in the lower, and above the symphysis 

 posterior to the fixed row : sometimes canines in the upper jaw. The first portion of the dorsal fin containing 

 five or six flexible spines, and either distinct from or continuous with the soft portion, which is similar to the anal. 



Ventrals united, forming a dish, and only attached by their bases. Scales, when present, small, becoming larger 

 posteriorly. 



Geographical distribution. — Coasts of India, Burma, Andamans, and through the Malay Archipelago. 

 They ascend estuaries and rivers, sometimes even above tidal influence. 



SYNOPSIS OF SPECIES. 



1. Apocryptes serperaster, D. 6 | 27, A. 27, L. 1. 65-70, L. tr. 20. Whitish, with gray vertical bands. 

 Seas of India and China. 



2. Apocryptes rictuosus, D. 6 | 24-27, A. 25-29, L. 1. ca. 75. Gray, with ill-defined oblique bands passing 

 down from the back : usually a black, yellow-edged ocellus on last dorsal rays. Seas and estuaries of India. 



3. Apocryptes Bleeheri, D. 6 | 22-25, A. 22-23, L. 1. 50-55, L. tr. 13. Gray, with brown spots or blotches 

 along the sides. Pectorals dark, with a light edge. Seas of India to the Malay Archipelago. 



4. Apocryptes batoides, D. 6 | 23, A. 23. Teeth pointed. Head 1/2 as wide as long. Grayish. Moulmein. 



5. Apocryptes lanceolatus, D. 5 | 31-32, A. 29-30. Greenish superiorly, with numerous brown spots and 

 bands, dorsal and caudal spotted and barred. Seas of India to the Malay Archipelago. 



6. Apocryptes dentatus, D. 5 | 32, A. 31. Said to have larger teeth than A. lanceolatus. Coromandel 

 coast. 



* Bleeker's Apocryptini consists of Gobies possessing a single row of teetli in either jaw, those in the mandibles being 

 sub-horizontal, with two erect posterior canines above the symphysis. 

 I. Apocetptei — 



1. Apocryptodon, Bleeker. Teeth in premaxillaries partly truncated, partly sharp canines : in the lower jaw 



truncated or bilobed. 



2. Parapocryptes, Bleeker. Teeth subulate and sharp in both jaws, partly canines in premaxillaries. 



3. Apocryptes, Y&\.= Gobileptes, Swains. Teeth in both jaws, with their apices incised : no canines in the premaxillaries. 



4. Pseudapocryptes, Bleeker. Teeth in both jaws with their apices obtuse, swollen, not incised : no canines in the 



premaxillaries. 



2 a 9. 



