348 



FISHES. 



[Chap. X. 



and traverse the damp grass 1 ; and Sir John Bowsing^ 

 in his account of his embassy to the Siamese kings in 

 1855, states, that in ascending and descending the river 

 Meinam to Bankok, he was amused with the novel sight 

 of fish leaving the river, gliding over the wet banks, 

 and losing themselves amongst the trees of the jungle. 2 



The class of fishes endowed with this power are chiefly 

 those with labyrinthiform pharyngeal bones, so disposed 

 in plates and cells as to retain a supply of moisture, 

 which, whilst they are crawling on land, gradually exudes 

 so as to keep the gills damp. a 



The individual most frequently seen in these excur- 

 sions in Ceylon is a perch called by the Singhalese 

 Kavaya or Kawhy-ya, and by the Tamils Pannei-eri, 

 or Sennal. It is closely allied to the Anabas scandens 

 of Cuvier, the Pevca scandens of Daldorf. It grows to 

 about six inches in length, the head round and covered 

 with scales, and the edges of the gill-covers strongly 

 denticulated. Aided by the apparatus already adverted 

 to in its head, this little creature issues boldly from its 

 native pools and addresses itself to its toilsome march 

 generally at night or in the early morning, whilst the 

 grass is still damp with the dew ; but in its distress it 

 is sometimes compelled to move by day, and Mr. E. L. 

 Layard on one occasion encountered a number of them 

 travelling along a hot and dusty road under the midday 

 sun. 4 



1 Pallegoix, vol. i. p. 144. the government-agent of Trinco- 



2 Sir J. Bo wring's Siam, Sfc, malie, writing to me on this sub- 

 vol. i. p. 10. ject in 1856, says — "I was lately 



3 Cuvier and Valenciennes, on duty inspecting the bund of a 

 Hist. Nat. des Poissons, torn. vii. large tank at Nade-cadua, which, 

 p. 246. being out of repair, the remaining 



4 Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., water was confined in a small 

 May, 1853, p. 390. Mr. Morris, hollow in the otherwise dry bed. 



