234 
THE FISHES OF MALABAR. 
gold. Four or five badly marked horizontal lines pass along the centre of each scale. Opercles 
and the lower surface of the head beautifully shot with golden and green. Dorsal, pectoral, ventral, 
and anal colourless. Caudal shot with blue, and having a darkish margin. 
Very much esteemed for eating by the Natives, and also extensively salted. It is not a good 
species for the manufacture of oil, as it contains but little, which is probably the reason why it is 
salted in such quantities. It is very abundant, and commonly known as the Sardine, but is not 
the species used for the manufacture of oil, which is the Sardinella Neohowii of Cuv. § Val. It 
grows to about six inches in length. 
Habitat—Malabar. 
Genus MELETTA, Val 
Branchiostegals, from five to seven. Body elongated and compressed, abdomen trenchant and serrated. 
Cleft of mouth moderate. Upper jaw the shortest. One dorsal medial, ventral beneath the dorsal, anal 
moderately elongated and behind the dorsal. Teeth none on the jaws, vomer, or palatine bones, but a 
small rough band on the tongue. Air vessel large and cylindrical. 
* Meletta lile. 
Meletta lile, Cuv. & Val xx. p. 378. 
B. v. D. 14. P. 12. Y. 7. A. 17. C. 21. L. 1. 40. 
Length of head yt °f that of the body. Height of body equal to T 3 T of the total length. 
Profile of back almost straight, that of the abdomen very convex, and its surface trenchant. 
Its thickness one-fourth of its height. 
Mouth small ; the lower jaw slightly longer than the upper. 
Teeth—In upper jaw absent, very small ones present (?) in lower jaw. A longitudinal band 
on the tongue. 
Fins—Ventrals small and inserted under the first ray of the dorsal, which as well as the 
caudal is scaly; the last of which fins is forked. 
Colours—Transparent white : lateral line opaque and marked by a silver band, softened with 
nacreous rose colour. Fins transparent with the exception of the caudal, which has a black border. 
Crows to four or five inches in length, and said to be very common in Malabar, where it is 
termed cooba. 
Habitat—Seas of India. 
Genus ALAUSA, Val 
Branchiostegals, from five to eight. Body moderately elongated and compressed, abdomen trenchant 
and serrated. Eye with broad adipose lids on either side. Upper jaw shorter than the lower. Dorsal medial, 
ventral below it: anal elongated, and posterior to dorsal. No teeth in any of the bones of the mouth or 
on the tongue, except occasionally small deciduous ones on the jaws. Air vessel large, pointed at both 
ends and simple. Pyloric appendages numerous. 
