454 
TUBE-BLADDERED GROUP. 
Eel-Like Cat-Fish. 
many of which contain a multitude of species. In this work only a very few 
of the genera can be even mentioned, some of those selected including the largest 
members of the family. 
Clarias anguillaris is a well-known representative of the first 
subfamily, in which the long dorsal and anal fins extend nearly 
throughout the length of the trunk. It belongs to a minor group confined to 
Africa and the Oriental region, and characterised by the dorsal fin being either 
composed of weak rays throughout its length, or with its hinder portion modified 
into a fatty fin. 
w ^ The wels (Silurus glanis), shown in the larger figure of the 
illustration on p. 436, is the typical representative of the second 
subfamily, in which the rayed dorsal fin is but little developed, and if present at 
all occupies only the hinder region of the trunk ; the fatty portion being small or 
wanting. The anal fin is not much shorter than the caudal region of the backbone, 
and the pelvic fins are behind or below the dorsal. In the wels and its congeners the 
short dorsal has no pungent spine ; the fatty fin is wanting; there are two upper and 
two or four lower barbels; the head and body are naked; and the tail-fin is rounded. 
The wels itself, which is confined to the European rivers eastwards of the Rhine, 
has six barbels, of which the upper pair are considerably longer than the head, and 
commonly attains a length of from 6 to 9 feet, although it occasionally grows to 
13 feet. In colour the head, back, and edges of the fins are bluish black, the sides 
greenish black spotted with olive-green, and the under-parts reddish or yellowish 
white with blackish marblings. Frequenting rivers and lakes with muddy 
bottoms, the wels feed on fishes, frogs, and crustaceans, but it will also seize and 
pull down ducks, geese, or other birds swimming on the surface. The spawning¬ 
time is in the middle of summer, when these fish resort to the shallows in order 
to deposit their eggs on the stems and leaves of water-plants. 
Yarreii’s Cat- Another gigantic species is Yarrell’s cat-fish (Bagarius yarrelli ), 
Fisk, etc. from the large rivers and estuaries of India and Java, which attains 
a length of fully 6 feet, and from its huge head and mouth is one of the ugliest 
fishes in existence. The only member of its genus, it belongs to a subfamily in 
which the rayed dorsal fin is short, and situated in the hinder part of the body in 
advance of the pelvics; and there is always a fatty fin, which may, however, be 
short; and the anal is shorter than the caudal region of the backbone. When 
nasal barbels are developed, they belong to the hinder nostrils. In the group of 
genera to which Yarrell’s cat-fish belongs the front and hinder nostrils are placed 
near together, with a barbel between them; and in this particular form there are 
eight barbels, and the upper surface of the head is naked. This gigantic species is 
of especial interest on account of its fossilised remains occurring in the Pliocene 
deposits of the Siwalik Hills in North-Eastern India. 
The well-known genus Arius, from all the tropical regions of the world, 
belongs to another group of the same subfamily, in which the front and hinder 
nostrils are close together, but have no barbel, although the hinder-pair are provided 
with a valve. The Tropical American genus Pimelodus is the typical representa¬ 
tive of a third group of the same subfamily, in which the two pairs of nostrils are 
equally devoid of barbels, but are placed at a considerable distance apart. The 
