In the year 1885, Miss Adele M. Fielde, a well-known missionary, then resident in Swatow, China, sent to the University of Indiana, a considerable collection of the fishes of that port. A series of these fishes, still undescribed, was purchased by the Leland Stanford, Jr. University, and placed in my bands for study and identification. These species, 73 in number, are enumerated in the present paper. At the end of the paper, I give a nominal list of the species recorded from Swatow, not contained in this collection. Dr. H. E. Sauvage gives a list of 68 species, only 23 of which were sent by Miss Fielde. Dr. Franz Steindachner describes three new species of gobies not in the present collection. These species are included in the present list on the authority of Sauvage and Steindachner.
My obligations are due to President Jordan for various aids in this investigation which was placed by him in my bands.
[ ... ]
One specimen, 7 1/2 in. long.
Head 3 1/2, depth 5 1/3, eye 7; scales 6-56-12; D 44; A. 30
Head 3 3/4, depth 6 1/2, eye 5 ; D. 45 ; A. 29 ; scales 6-56-11.
All teeth in lower jaw about equal in size, in a single series, except in front, where they form a band. Teeth in two series on palatines, two or three on the , tvomer, and in a band in upper jaw. Eye equal to snout. Interorbital nearly flat, its width 3 3/4 in head. Maxillary extending beyond orbit, 2 2/5 in head. Preorbital very narrow, its narrowest portion about as wide as maxillary. A short barbel 2/5 length of eye, on each side of snout. Scales on top of head rather large, 2/3 diameter of eye, seven scales between eye and angle of preopercle. A simple accessory respiratory organ without well developed closing membranes, there being only a slight fold from opercle to upper part of first gill arch, and a process from one of the suspensory bones and a small process from the gill arches. Union of gill membranes in middle of length of head. A broad shallow groove in front of dorsal. Origin of dorsal over second scale behind pectoral, pectoral extending 2/3 of distance to anal, origin of anal midway between snout and base of caudal. End of dorsal farther posterior than that of anal, last rays of dorsal reaching for half their length over caudal. Pectoral equals postorbital part of head. Caudal rather pointed, its length 4 3/4 in that of body. Ventrals wanting. Tail from anal equals one-half its depth, which is over half that of the body. Scales with rather wavy concentric striae, lateral line decurved and interrupted over origin of anal. Color, in alcohol: Sides with about a dozen cross stripes each bent with the angle forward, dorsal dark, anal edged with black, dark above, belly washed with black, a dark blotch on upper side of head and a dark stripe backward from eye. A black ocellus at base of caudal.
This species is readily distinguisbed from orientalis by the greater number of fin rays and scales and by the two rows of teeth on the palatines.
The above description is based on one specimen, 5 1/2 in. long.
[ ... ]
1 Channa ocellata is a synonym for Channa asiatica (Linne, 1758) . [snakeheads.org]. Back
These passages were originally published under the above title in: Proceedings of the Academy of Natural History, Philadelphia . pp. 56-90, 1897.
| © 2001 - 2004 snakeheads.org | HOME of this page |