41. Ariomma indicum (Day, 1870) Indian driftfish (Figure 42)

Material examined: 1 ex.; 22.07.11; Shankarpur, Reg. No. MARC /ZSI/F3738 .

Description: D: IX, 14-16; A: III, 13-15. Body moderately deep, compressed but thick; caudal peduncle short, not compressed, almost square in crosssection and with two very low and ill-defined fleshy keels at base of caudal fin; snout blunt and rounded. Colour silvery with a bluish tinge on back; may have a few darker and variable blotches on sides; inside of opercle black; eye with 2 golden crescents separated by a vertical dark region almost the width of the lens; large specimens may be uniformly dark.

Distribution: Indo-Pacific: South Africa to the Persian Gulf (but not in the Red Sea) east to the Indo-Malayan region, north to Japan.

Remarks: The fish has commercial value. Size: 23 cm.