THE FISHES OF MALABAR. 
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Genus SPRATELLA, Val. 
Branchiostegals, five or six. Body moderately elongated, and compressed : abdomen trenchant and 
serrated. Upper jaw shorter than the lower. One dorsal, medial: ventral under dorsal: anal moderately 
elongated and posterior to the dorsal. Teeth on the palatine bones and on the tongue, none on the jaws 
or vomer. 
Spratella FIMBRIATA. 
Spratella FIMBRIATA, Cuv. & Veil. xx. p. 359, pi. 600. 
CuTTAY CHARLAY, Mai . 
B. y. D. 19-20. P. 17. V. 8. A. 20 C. 19-20. L. 1. 46. L. tr. 11. 
Length of head V of pectoral jt, of caudal |, of base of dorsal of base of anal of total 
length. Height of head jt, of body -y, of dorsal yk) °f ana l r<u ventral yh of total length. 
Eyes—With wide adipose lids, having a circular orifice in the centre of each, diameter f of 
length of head, f of a diameter from end of snout, and 1 diameter apart. 
Body elliptical, highest opposite the front of the dorsal fin. Sides rather compressed, abdo¬ 
minal line ending in a sharp toothed keel. Profile from snout to dorsal gradually rising, from the 
posterior end of the dorsal sinking as gradually to the caudal. The lower profile slightly convex. 
Mouth small, half wider than deep. Lower jaw the longest, with a tubercle at the symphysis. 
Posterior extremity of the upper ja^v reaches to opposite the centre of the orbit. The nearest 
supplementary bone to the maxilla thick and rounded above, flattened expanded and sulcated 
interiorly: posterior bone narrow, and with a circular expansion interiorly. Opercle two and a 
quarter times as high as wide, its superior and inferior margins oblique, its anterior and posterior 
ones straight, (in immature specimens there is a slight bulging at the centre of the pos¬ 
terior margin) some oblique badly marked veinings on the opercle. Subopercle trapezoid, half 
longer than it is high. Preopercle large, with the posterior border vertical and its angle rounded. 
Subopercle small. Branchiostegous membrane wide. Interorbital space with a Y-shaped elevation 
in its centre, apex in front, and its base emarginate behind. Nostrils oval, large, and nearer to 
the snout than to the anterior margin of the orbit. Abdomen sharp, keeled, and its margin 
denticulated. 
Teeth—Very small in the lower jaw, and deciduous. There are some minute ones on the 
palate, and also a small longitudinal band in the centre of the tongue. 
Fins—The distance from the snout to the anterior extremity of the dorsal fin, is equal to the 
distance from the base of the caudal to the posterior extremity of the same fin : pectoral situated 
just beneath the posterior inferior angle of the subopercle : ventral under the centre of the dorsal: 
anal midway between the commencement of the ventral and the base of the caudal. Dorsal 
highest in front, first five rays undivided, the fifth the highest, the last rays slightly prolonged : 
upper margin concave; at the base of the fin there is a double row of scales, forming a groove, 
which at its posterior end almost conceals the whole of the last two rays. Pectoral pointed. 
Ventral triangular, with an elongated scale at its base. Anal with the first three rays undivided, 
the fin parallel with the abdominal surface. Caudal deeply lobed, the longest ray equal to the 
length of the head, or even more. 
Scales—Vertical diameter the longest. 
Colours—'Upper surface of head and back greenish, abdomen silvery shot with green and 
