332 INDIAN CYPRINID^. Paonomince. 



ming, the scales are remarkably rough. With all its dexterity and rapid swim- 

 ming this species is more exposed to the nets of the fishermen than most other 

 fish, and its native name is said by the fishermen to be derived from the instinct 

 and agility it displays in attempts to elude them. According to the observa- 

 tions of Mr. Griffith, it is found in Upper Assam in the early part of the 

 cold season, generally keeping near the surface in deep water at the foot of 

 rapids ; in such situations it declines all sorts of bait and flies, but is a highly 

 esteemed article of food. In the lower parts of the river, where 1 saw it in 

 Middle Assam about the end of February, its flesh was considered coarse, and 

 its haunts were then in shallow waters, perhaps for the purpose of spawning, 

 which may account for the slight discrepancies regarding its qualities and 

 habits. 



Its usual size is from one to two and a half feet in length, and though 

 sometimes coarse, its flesh is always well flavoured. 



II.— Gen. BARBUS. 



Lower jaw composed of two lengthened limbs united in front so as to 

 form a smooth narrow apex ; the dorsal fin is preceded by a strong spinous 

 ray ; lips hard, four cirri, intermaxillaries protractile. 



They seem to live less exclusively on a vegetable regimen than most of the 

 Cirrhins, from which group they also differ in the form or sculpture of the 

 body, as well as in possessing a shorter intestinal canal. The dorsal which is 

 small commences half way between the caudal and the snout, the ventrals are 

 opposite to it. At the insertion of the anal the body contracts suddenly in 

 depth, leaving an abrupt tail about half the depth of the body, approaching to 

 what we see in the Lizards. The body is more slender, the fins smaller, but 

 the rays of which they are composed are larger, and the colours perhaps 

 brighter than in the Cirrhins. In the latter the head is thick, and the subor- 



