Light brown on back and upper surfaces. Down 
middle of back before dorsal 3 parallel, cose set, dark 
lines. Lower surfaces of body white, with silvery tints. 
Bright silvery white axial lateral band, narrower than 
eye and most distinct posteriorly, also bordered above 
by dark leaden line. Iris silvery white. Beak blackish. 
Fins dull brown, lower ones lighter and dorsal and 
caudal tips contrasted blackish. 
Malaya, East Indies, China, Formosa. The two 
examples listed below differ a little from Bleeker’s 
colored figure, as he shows both the dorsal and anal fin 
membranes entirely scaly, Bleeker’s figure also shows 
far more scales in a lateral axial series, or 65 counted 
from gill opening and 60 counted in the lateral line. 
His description says ’’squamis lateribus 50 circiter in 
series longitudinali**. He then takes into consideration 
GUnther’s Chinese fish, supposed to differ in having 
58 scales and baptizes it guntheri / Weber and Beaufort 
also seem to think guntheri valid and give the lateral 
line 55 for melanurus . The present species, as Bleeker 
contends, is best knovm by its more advanced ventral and 
black tipped dorsal and caudal. 
2 examples. Sandakan, Borneo, March 1, 1908. Length 215 
