Betta.—Body compressed, oblong; operculum without spine or serrature. Small fixed teeth in the jaws, none on the palate. Dorsal fin short, on the middle of the back, without any pungent spine; anal fin long. Ventral fin with five soft rays, the outer one being produced. Lateral line interrupted or absent.
A species of this genus (B. pugnax) is, on account of its pugnacious habits, reared by the Siamese. Cantor gives the following account:—“When the fish is in a state of quiet, its dull colours present nothing remarkable; but if two be brought together, or if one sees its own image in a looking-glass, the little creature becomes suddenly excited, the raised fins and the whole body shine with metallic colours of dazzling beauty, while the projected gill membrane, waving like a black frill round the throat, adds something of grotesqueness to the general appearance. In this state it makes repeated darts at its real or reflected antagonist. But both, when taken out of each other’s sight, instantly become quiet. This description was drawn up in 1840, at Singapore, by a gentleman who had been presented with several by the King of Siam. They were kept in glasses of water, fed with larvæ of mosquitoes, and had thus lived for many months. The Siamese are as infatuated with the combats of these fish as the Malays are with their cock-fights; and stake on the issue considerable sums, and sometimes their own persons and families. The license to exhibit fish-fights is farmed, and brings a considerable annual revenue to the King of Siam. The species abounds in the rivulets at the foot of the hills of Penang. The inhabitants name it ‘Pla-kat,’ or the ‘Fighting-fish;’ but the kind kept especially for fighting is an artificial variety cultivated for the purpose.”
Micracanthus.—This genus represents the three last-named genera in Africa, where it has been recently discovered in tributaries of the river Ogooué. It seems to differ from the Indian genera chiefly by its more elongate body, the structure of the fins being scarcely different (D. 3/7, A. 4/23, V. 1/4).
Second Family—Luciocephalidæ.
Body elongate, covered with scales of moderate size. Lateral line present. Teeth small. Gill-opening wide; pseudobranchiæ none. The superbranchial organ is formed by two branchial arches, which are dilated into a membrane. One short dorsal fin; dorsal and anal spines none; ventrals composed of one spine and five rays. Air-bladder none.
A small Freshwater-fish (Luciocephalus pulcher), from the East-Indian Archipelago.
Seventeenth Division—Acanthopterygii lophotiformes.
Body riband shaped, with the vent near its extremity; a short anal behind the vent; dorsal fin as long as the body.
Only one species is known of this division or family, Lophotes cepedianus. It is most probably a deep-sea fish, but does not descend to so great a depth as the Trachypteridæ, its bony and soft parts being well coherent. It is a scarce fish, hitherto found in the Mediterranean, off Madeira, and in the Sea of Japan; its length is known to exceed five feet. The head is elevated into a very high crest, and the dorsal fin commences with an exceedingly strong and long spine on the head. Silvery, with rose-coloured fins.