108 
SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE NESTS, EGOS, AND LARVAE OF 
OPHIOGEPHALSJS STRIATUS. 
By A. Willey. 
(With two Plates.) 
OTWITHSTANDING the fact that the “ lula ” or “ murral ” 
is one of the celebrated freshwater fishes of the East, and, 
at least in the low-country of Ceylon, easily the first in importance 
as a native source of food-supply, affording good sport and a capital 
meal into the bargain, there has been no scientific record concerning 
the nature and appearance of the spawn after oviposition. Such 
published information as is available may be summed up in the 
following quotation from Dr. Day, which has already been cited by 
Dr. Theodore Gill in his article on “ Parental care among Freshwater 
Fishes” (Ann. Rep. Smithsonian Inst., 1905, Washington, 1906, 
p. 492) :—“ The 0. striatus of Mysore is said to construct a nest 
with its tail among the vegetation near the edges of the tanks, 
whilst it bites off the ends of the weeds which grow in the water.” 
The first portion of this vaguely stated assertion is likely enough 
to be true ; it is almost as much as to say that a human habitation 
is built by hands. The second portion relating to the cutting of the 
surrounding weeds does not go without saying, but it is none the 
less correct, and it is a habit in which it resembles the North American 
Bowfin (Amia calva), according to the observation of Drs. Jacob 
Reighard and Bashford Dean. There are other similarities of 
habits in regard to the position and guarding of the nests. In both 
cases the small roundish clearings occur in the reedy shallows near 
the margins of lakes and tanks ; and in both cases the male parent 
tends the nest. Here, however, the analogy ends in essential points, 
inasmuch as the eggs of Amia are scattered over the bottom of the 
nest, whereas the eggs of “ lula ” float at the surface. 
Before leaving this comparison, the following extract from Dr. 
Dean’s paper on the habits and breeding of Amia, published in the 
Fourth Annual Report of the Commissioners of Fisheries, &c., of 
the State of New York, dated 1898, will be useful:—“ The eggs 
are scattered over the nests thickly, in number varying from a few 
hundreds to possibly a hundred thousand. A single male tends the 
nest, keeps away intruders, and by vigorous breathing produces a 
current of water which probably retards the growth of fish fungus. 
The fish stands guard, sometimes for hours motionless, save for its 
movements in balancing and breathing ; at other times it appears 
restive, turning about in the nest, making short detours, and return- 
