11 
BUBALIS. 
LUCKY PUOACH; 
Confounded with the Father-lasher under the name of Gundie. 
Oottua Buhalis, Cuvier. Jenyns; Manual, p. 345. 
Yaerell; Br, Fishes, vol. i, p. 78. 
Gunther; Catalogue of Br. Museum, vol. 
ii, p. 164. 
This species bears so near a resemblance to the Fatber- 
lasher, or Sting-fish, last described, that until very recent times 
they were confounded together; and for the purpose of 
istinguishing between them, it will be necessary to describe 
the Bubalis in comparison with the other, rather than inde- 
pendently and by itself. It is about the same size, but of 
s ig t y a moie slender shape; head narrower and more rough; 
spines sharper and longer; snout somewhat more protruded; 
fins more developed; the second dorsal and anal carried nearer 
the tail. In colour the difi'erence is considerable; the species 
now under consideration, although subject to some variation, 
being adorned with a mottled variety of brilliant red and brown, 
with bars of red or crimson across the pectoral fins and lips! 
The rays of the fins are often highly coloured when the 
connecting membrane is plain or colourless. 
The habits of this fish, so far as they are known, appear to 
be different from those of the Father-lasher only in that it 
keeps in deeper water. It feeds on the smaller crustacean 
animals, and probably on very young fishes. As it is often taken 
in crab-pots, which are usually set in places where sand and low 
rocks are intermingled, we conclude that such are its favourite 
resorts; and that it enters those traps for the purpose of obtain- 
ing a meal from the baits they contain. In its turn it becomes 
a bait to entice the lobster and crab to a like captivity. 
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