Fish of the Tale Saj). 
47. 
The form is narrow and greatly elongated, it is depressed from above downwards 
and compressed from side to side. The shields are finely striated transversally 
and their keels are provided with minute serrations. The keels of the various 
shields run into one another and do not form spines. The superior cristae of 
trunk and tail are discontinuous, the lateral cristae of trunk and superior cristae 
of tail subcontinuous, the inferior cristae of trunk and tail continuous. The oper- 
culum is provided with a complete longitudinal keel and there are about eight radiat- 
ing ridges below it. The length of the head is contained 5.7 times in the total 
length without the caudal. The snout is much longer than the remaining part 
of the head and is almost double the postorbital part of the head. The anus 
is situated ane shield behind the commencement of the dorsal and is much nearer 
to the base of the caudal than to the tip of the snout. The caudal is longer than 
the pectoral, but considerably .shorter than the postorbital part of the head. 
The middle rays of the caudal are the longest, while the pectoral is spread out 
fan-wi.se. 
The abdominal brood-pouch is well developed and extends from the .second 
trunk .shield to the termination of the first tail-shield. Its height is greater than the 
body height without the pouch. 
In alcohol- specimens the trunk is yellowish and the tail light gray. The 
head and the walls of the pouch are dirty white. A dark lateral band runs 
on the side of the head from the tip of snout through the eye to the gill-opening. 
There is a series of prominent, oval black spots on 5th to 15th trvmk .shields. 
They are less conspicuous on the anterior shields. There is an indication of a 
light grey band corresponding to each shield and separated by a white basal 
dot. The tail fin is grayish while the dorsal and the pectoral are not provided 
with any colour markings. 
Te.xt FIG I. — Lateral view of type-specimen of .l/icyo/)Ais awHrtn^/a/e/, sp. nov. x li. 
In young specimens the colour is light olive yellow and all the trunk and 
tail segments-^ are provided with vertical grey bands. A black streak runs from 
the eye to the tip of the snout. The middle rays of the caudal fin are deep gray. 
Of the six, .species definitely referred to the genus Microphis by Dunker in his 
revision of the family Syngnathidae,' there are four that occur in the waters of 
the Indo- Australian Region. These four forms have quite recently been discuss- 
ed by Weber and Beaufort ^ in the IV volume of their valuable book on the 
Fishes of i. the I ndo- Australian Archipelago. M. hoaja (Bleeker) is the only Siamese 
fish of this genus and differs from the new species in having a larger number 
' Dunker, Mill. Naturh. Miis. Hamburg XXXII, p. 43 (1915). 
* Weber and Beaufort. Fi^h. I ndo- Austral. Arcliipel. IV, p. 43 (1922). 
