1848.] On the Fresh Water Fishes of Southren India, 139 



II. — On the Fresh Water Fishes of Southern India. By 

 T. C. Jerdon, Esq.^ Assistant Surgeon, Madras Estah- 

 lishment. 



Icthyology has never been a favourite study with English writers ; 

 and of all the branches of natural history it is the most neglected 

 by amateurs and collectors. The difficulty of procuring fishes, and 

 the uninviting appearance they present in general, is, doubtless, the 

 chief cause of this : to which may be added the meagre history we 

 are able to procure of their habits and manners. 



We can assure the reader, however, that if once he commences 

 the study of the finny tribe, he will find himself amply repaid by the 

 number and variety of forms he will meet with, and the rich colour- 

 ing of many ; whilst the philosophic naturalist, in his attempts to ar- 

 range fishes in their natural order, will find abundant materials to 

 work upon, and a greater individuality of form belonging to each 

 species, than, perhaps, in any other of the vertebrated classes. 



With regard to Indian fishes we have in Russell's two folio vo- 

 lumes but very few fresh water fishes. Cuvier and Valenciennes 

 have, however, described many from the Carnatic and Malabar, of 

 which I have been unable to identify several ; and Hamilton Buchanan 

 in his Fishes of the Ganges, and McLelland, in his valuable paper on 

 the Oyprinidse in the Asiatic Researches, have described a vast num- 

 ber ; of which, however, we appear to possess but few in the south of 

 India. Colonel Sykes has given a list of the fresh water fishes of 

 the Deccan, which is very valuable, as it enumerates many new spe- 

 cies from the tributaries of the Kistnah and Godaverj' — a locality 

 which I have not had an opportunity of observing, since I turned my 

 attention to this branch of natural history. His descriptions how- 

 ever are rather brief, and it is impossible to make out his species ac- 

 curately, without a comparison with allied forms ; and I regret much 

 that Valenciennes has not attempted this : nor has he indeed introduc- 

 ed them at all into the great work on fishes of Cuvier himself. I 

 shall notice Sykes' species in their proper place. 



My own researches have been, as yet, confined to parts of the Car- 

 natic, of Mysore, and of Malabar. I have obtained, chiefly among 

 the carp, many species apparently new, which I shall briefly describe ; 

 and, to make the catalogue more complete, I will introduce all those 

 described by Cuvier and Valenciennes, which I have not met with 



