340 TELEOSTEI. ACANTHOPTEBYGII. 



diameter 2| in length of head, k diain. from end of snout, and 

 1 apart. Cleft of mouth very oblique ; lower jaw rather broad 

 anteriorly and a little shorter than the upper. Teeth in jaws 

 minute, none on vorner or palate. Fins dorsal spines feeble, the 

 fin commences midway between bases of ventral and anal. Scales 

 edges a little rough. Colour a well-marked silvery band is 

 confined to third row of scales ; many fine black dots along the 

 back, especially on edges of scales, and a few in lower half of the 

 body. Base of pectoral densely dotted with black. A dark spot 

 on upper edge of eye, another at upper edge of base of caudal fin, 

 which is also dark-edged posteriorly. A dark line along scales at 

 base of anal fiu. 



Uab. Madras ; growing to 3 inches in length. 



Family XXXVI. MUGILL1XE. . 



Branchiostegals from four to six ; pseudobranchiae. Gill-open- 

 ings wide : gills four. Body oblong, compressed ; the head and 

 anterior portion may be depressed. Eyes lateral, with or without 

 adipose lids. Mouth narrow or of moderate width. Opercles 

 usually unarmed. Teeth very fine, sometimes absent. Two dorsal 

 fins, the first consisting of four stiff spines ; anal slightly longer 

 than the second dorsal; \entrals abdominal and suspended from 

 an elongated shoulder-bone, 1/5. Scales cycloid, rarely ctenoid. 

 Lateral line absent. Pyioric appendages generally few. Vertebra; 



111 marine mullets the scales are usually cycloid or very feebly 

 ctenoid, but in M. corsula, M. cascasia, and M. hamiltoni'i, which 

 reside mostly or entirely in fresh water, the scales are strongly 

 ctenoid ; the last two have only two crecal appendages. 



These fishes are distributed throughout the seas of India, some 

 ascending tidal rivers or being found in estuaries. The young, 

 as a rule, enter large rivers, and are found in the watercourses 

 intersecting paddy-fields, and in inundated localities. Large 

 H Ur i ai ca P tured b y means of small-meshed nets and wicker- 

 baskets. The strictly freshwater forms seem to be confined to the 

 larger rivers, as the Ganges, Jumna, and Irrawaddy. 

 f A^ * ule . *!L es e fishes ' when of suffici ent size, are esteemed as 

 fl by both Europeans and natives in their fresh state ; they are 

 also extensively salted and sun-dried. 



Mullets putrefy very rapidly in hot climates, especially if large. 



1. Genus MUGIL, Liuii. 



Branchiostegals six in all Indian species. Eyes with or without 

 an adipose hd. Mouth more or less transverse, with a shallow 

 cieit, and the anterior edge of the mandible sharp. Upper portion 

 ot the stomach very muscular. 



