1849.] 



Fishes of Southern India. 



343 



water fish, but I have not had an opportunity again of verifying this. 

 It is however quite possible, as Bengal possesses one or two fresh 

 water Plotosi. 



Fam. Clupeidce. 



Dorsal fin single, central ; mouth small oblique ; teeth minute ; bo- 

 dy compressed, aperture of gills large ; scales large deciduous. 



Gen. Notopterus. Lacep. 

 Ventral fins minute ; dorsal fins small, nearly central ; anal very 

 long, united to the caudal. 



JSTotoptei'us Jcapirat, Lac. 



I have only observed one species of this genus in South India which 

 I presume to be the one named as above, but as I have no access to 

 any description of the species shall not attempt to characterize it. 



Colonel Sykes has one species of this genus which he has named 

 Mystushadgee — D. 8, A, 105 — length 11 inches, height 3; all his 

 other characters are generic, so that it must remain at present uncer- 

 tain if his species be identical, or not, with the one of S. India. 



Gen. Butirinus. Commerson. 

 Body lanceolate, not much compressed ; belly rounded, smooth ; 

 dorsal and anal fins both short ; ventral under the dorsal ; jaws and 

 tongue armed with numerous' fine teeth; those in the palate blunt. 



Butirinus argenteus. Forster, Bloch. 



Head about 4| times in the whole length of body ; eye near the 

 muzzle ; and elongated scale at the base of the dorsal (on each side), 

 pectoral and anal fins ; and 2 at the base of the caudal ; green above, 

 white beneath, the whole fish silvery; fins glossy; up to 3 feet long, 

 about 82 scales along the sides in 22 rows — D. 14, A. 8. 



I have hitherto only seen this very handsome fish in a fresh water 

 tank at Coondapoor in North Canara. They abound here, and are 

 supposed to have been introduced by Hyder Ali. 



At present they are protected by the officers of government from 

 being caught by any one, but a stranger passing through the place is 

 permitted, on his requisition to the authorities, to have a fish hunting, 

 which takes place in this wise. A line of boats is formed at one end 

 of the tank (which may be about 250 yards long by 150 broad) and 

 a long deep net is carried along the line of boats pulled at either end 



