Return to Ichthyology Catalogue of IndiaA Descriptive Catalogue of the Indian Deep-Sea Fishes in the Indian Museum--Being a Revised Account of the Deep Sea Fishes Collected by the Royal Indian Marine Survey Ship Investigator/A. Alcock. Reprint. First published in 1899. 1993, 211 p., $44.
From the Introduction: "The fishes included in this catalogue were all of them dredged by the R.I.M.S. "Investigator", in deep water, between the meridians of 65 degrees and 99 degrees E. and the parallels of 5 degrees and 24 degrees N., during the years 1885-1899.
"They number, exclusive of a few mangled remains that cannot be identified with certainty, 169 species, namely:-
Chondropterygii - 9 species
Acanthopterygii - 46 species
Anacanthini - 55 species
Physostomi - 57 species
Plectognathi - 2 species
"Of these--126 species have, so far as is known, been taken only by the "Investigator;" while 43 species are believed to be identical with species found in other parts of the world, the identities having been assured by actual comparison of specimens in 13 instances.
"It will be interesting, to begin with, to inquire into the geographical distribution of these 43 species and to see if they throw any light on the outside relations of the fish-fauna of the Indian seas."
[A. Alcock also wrote Materials for a Carcinological Fauna of India.]