''Cynoglossus canariensis'', commonly known as the Canary tonguesole is a species of tonguefish. It is commonly found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off western Africa, from Mauritania and Western Sahara south to Angola, including the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

and Cape Verde Islands. It is a

demersal The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer of ...

species found at depths of 10-300m, it has been found in brackish water, but is normally a coastal species which occurs over substrates of sand or mud. It feeds on small fish and crustaceans. This species is targeted in trawl fisheries throughout its range and in many areas, it appears to have undergone significant declines. For example, in Gabon the mixed ''Cynoglossus'' stock is considered overexploited, while in other parts of western Africa such as Mauritania the stocks of ''Cynoglossus'' had declined by over 60% in the five or six years up to 2015. The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

list ''C. canariensis'' as Near Threatened due to is dependence on conservation.

References

Cynoglossidae Fish described in 1882 {{Pleuronectiformes-stub