Barhus. INDIAN CYPRINID^. 337 



in the plains, keeping mostly in the middle of the stream, where it takes a 

 red hackle very freely, as well as worms and other bait. It is very powerful, 

 often attaining two feet and upwards in length, and usually weighing from 

 eight to twelve pounds. 



There is still another large species Cijp. yitutora, Buch. closely allied to the 

 preceding Barbels, which according to Buchanan sometimes attains nine feet 

 in length ;* it has the following rays in its fins, 



D.ll: P.15: V.9: A.7: C.19. 



The head is said to be blunt, oval, and small, with a protractile mouth, 

 and the scales to terminate with a notch behind. The first of these charac- 

 ters would seem partly to refer it to B. hexagonolepus^ while the notch at the 

 apex of the scales is only apparent in B. macrocepJialiis. There is no drawing 

 in Buchanan's collection of the species alluded to, and as his description is 

 not sufficiently clear, we must for the present consider Cyp. piiutora as a 

 doubtful species. 



V. — B. MEGALEPIS, J. M. 



Cyp. mosal, Buch. 

 Hardw. Illust. Tab. 93, f. 1. 



The only specimen of this species I have seen is contained in a small 

 collection of fishes presented to the Society by INIr. Hodgson. Its principal 

 difference from the last described consists in its having a longer head, which is 



* The proportional depth of such an individual could not be less than two feet. JMr. Yarrell 

 alludes to a Carp, the largest he could find any record of, and which weighed twenty-two pounds; 

 but it appears from a notice in the Phil. Mag. Aug. I837j that a Carp twenty-three pounds weight 

 had been found in England in 1771- There can be no doubt however that the Barbel alluded to by 

 Buclianan must have been twice that weight at least, and that twenty-three pounds is an ordinary 

 ■weight of many of the Indian species of this and the last described genus. 



1 i 



