172 
INDIAN FRESH -WATER FISHES. 
expected, and have frequently been accused of falling 
from the clouds. 
Char. Dorsal rays 17 or 18 + 8 to 10. Anal 
10 + 10. Scales 28 to 32. 
Colour varies, sometimes marked with dark hands. 
GENUS POLYACANTHUS. 
Char. Mouth small, and but little protractile. 
Opercles without spines. 
1. Polyacanthus cupanus. 
Hab. Madras, near the coasts. 3 inches. 
Char. Dorsal fin rays. 14 to 1G spinous + 5 to 
7 soft rays and 1G to 19 spinous + 10 to 11 soft. 
Scales 29 to 32. 
Colour, greenish, fins barred, with a dark spot at 
the base of the caudal. Ventral fin with an elongated 
ray, which is scarlet. 
GENUS OSPHROMENUS. 
Char. Operculum without spines, but finely ser- 
rated in the young. Ventral fins with the outer ray 
very long, filiform, the remaining rays being small 
and rudimentary. 
1. Osphromenus nobilis. 
Hab. A small fish found in the N. E. of Bengal. 
Char. Two white bands along the sides, and a third 
along the base of the anal fin. Dorsal rays 5 or G 
+ 7 or 8. Anal 5 + 23. Scales 28 to 30. 
