''Symphurus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Cynoglossidae found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean. Most

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

mainly occur in relatively shallow water, including

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

. Some species are also found in deeper water, including '' S. thermophilus'' that lives at

hydrothermal vent Hydrothermal vents are fissures on the seabed from which geothermally heated water discharges. They are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart at mid-ocean ridges, ocean basins, and hot ...

s (the only

flatfish A flatfish is a member of the Ray-finned fish, ray-finned demersal fish Order (biology), suborder Pleuronectoidei, also called the Heterosomata. In many species, both eyes lie on one side of the head, one or the other migrating through or around ...

known from this habitat).Tyler, J. (2005): Distribution, population characteristics and trophic ecology of a sulphophilic hydrothermal vent tonguefish (Pleuronectiformes: Cynoglossidae). ''Master of Science. Thesis. University of Victoria: Canada.''Munroe, T.A. & Hashimoto, J. (2008): A new Western Pacific Tonguefish (Pleuronectiformes: Cynoglossidae): The first Pleuronectiform discovered at active Hydrothermal Vents. ''Zootaxa, 1839: 43–59.'' These species are distinguished by merged

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

, caudal and

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

s, the absence of a

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

and

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

s, and the presence of only one

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...

. They are sinistral flatfishes, meaning that as

adult An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...

s, their crania are asymmetrical, with both

eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

s on the left side. The largest species grows to about long.

Species

There are currently 78 recognized species in this genus: * '' Symphurus arawak'' C. R. Robins & J. E. Randall, 1965 (Caribbean tonguefish) * '' Symphurus atramentatus'' D. S. Jordan & Bollman, 1890 (Ink-spot tonguefish) * '' Symphurus atricauda'' ( D. S. Jordan & C. H. Gilbert, 1880) (California tonguefish) * ''

Symphurus australis ''Symphurus'' is a genus of fish in the family Cynoglossidae found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean. Most species mainly occur in relatively shallow water, including estuaries. Some species are also found in deeper water, including '' ...

'' McCulloch, 1907 * ''

Symphurus bathyspilus ''Symphurus'' is a genus of fish in the family Cynoglossidae found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean. Most species mainly occur in relatively shallow water, including estuaries. Some species are also found in deeper water, including '' ...

'' Krabbenhoft &

Munroe Munroe is a derivation of the Scottish surname Munro (surname), Munro, and may refer to: In politics * Allen Munroe (1819–1884), New York politician * Daniel Munroe Forney, Congressional Representative from North Carolina * George H. Munroe (18 ...

, 2003 * '' Symphurus billykrietei''

, 1998 (Kriete's tonguefish) * '' Symphurus callopterus''

& Mahadeva, 1989 (Chocolate tonguefish) * '' Symphurus caribbeanus''

, 1991 * '' Symphurus chabanaudi'' Mahadeva &

, 1990 (Chabanaud's tonguefish) * '' Symphurus civitatium'' Ginsburg, 1951 (Offshore tonguefish) * '' Symphurus diabolicus'' Mahadeva &

, 1990 (Devil's tonguefish) * '' Symphurus diomedeanus'' ( Goode & T. H. Bean, 1885) (Spotted-fin tonguefish) * '' Symphurus elongatus'' ( Günther, 1868) (Elongated tonguefish) * '' Symphurus fasciolaris'' C. H. Gilbert, 1892 (Banded tonguefish) * '' Symphurus fuscus'' A. B. Brauer, 1906 * '' Symphurus gilesii'' ( Alcock, 1889) * '' Symphurus ginsburgi'' Menezes & Benvegnú, 1976 (Ginsburg's tonguefish) * '' Symphurus gorgonae'' Chabanaud, 1948 (Gorgonian tonguefish) * '' Symphurus holothuriae'' Chabanaud, 1948 * '' Symphurus hondoensis'' C. L. Hubbs, 1915 * '' Symphurus insularis''

, Brito & C. Hernández, 2000 * '' Symphurus jenynsi'' Evermann & Kendall, 1906 (Jenyn's tonguefish) * '' Symphurus kyaropterygium'' Menezes & Benvegnú, 1976 * '' Symphurus leei'' D. S. Jordan & Bollman, 1890 (Lee's tonguefish) * '' Symphurus leucochilus'' M. Y. Lee,

& K. T. Shao, 2014 Lee, M.-Y., Munroe, T.A. & Shao, K.-T. (2014): Description of a new cryptic, shallow-water tonguefish (Pleuronectiformes: Cynoglossidae: ''Symphurus'') from the western North Pacific Ocean. ''Journal of Fish Biology, 85 (3): 563–585.'' * '' Symphurus ligulatus'' ( Cocco, 1844) * '' Symphurus longirostris'' M. Y. Lee,

& Y. Kai, 2016 (Long-snout tonguefish) Lee, M.-Y., Munroe, T.A. & Kai, Y. (2016): Description of a new cryptic species of tonguefish (Pleuronectiformes: Cynoglossidae: ''Symphurus'') from shallow waters off Japan. ''Ichthyological Research, 64 (1): 71–83.'' * '' Symphurus lubbocki''

, 1990 * '' Symphurus luzonensis'' Chabanaud, 1955 * ''

Symphurus macrophthalmus ''Symphurus'' is a genus of fish in the family Cynoglossidae found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean. Most species mainly occur in relatively shallow water, including estuaries. Some species are also found in deeper water, including '' ...

'' Norman, 1939 * '' Symphurus maculopinnis''

, J. Tyler & Tunnicliffe, 2011 Munroe, T.A., Tyler, J. & Tunnicliffe, V. (2011): Description and biological observations on a new species of deepwater symphurine tonguefish (Pleuronectiformes: Cynoglossidae: ''Symphurus'') collected at Volcano–19, Tonga Arc, West Pacific Ocean. ''Zootaxa, 3061: 53-66.'' * '' Symphurus maldivensis'' Chabanaud, 1955 * '' Symphurus marginatus'' ( Goode & T. H. Bean, 1886) (Margined tonguefish) * '' Symphurus marmoratus'' Fowler, 1934 * '' Symphurus megasomus'' M. Y. Lee, H. M. Chen & K. T. Shao, 2009 (Giant tonguefish) * '' Symphurus melanurus'' H. W. Clark, 1936 (Drab tonguefish) * '' Symphurus melasmatotheca''

& Nizinski, 1990 (Black-stripe tonguefish) * '' Symphurus microlepis'' Garman, 1899 (Small-fin tonguefish) * '' Symphurus microrhynchus'' ( M. C. W. Weber, 1913) * '' Symphurus minor'' Ginsburg, 1951 (Large-scale tonguefish) * '' Symphurus monostigmus''

, 2006 * ''

Symphurus multimaculatus ''Symphurus'' is a genus of fish in the family (biology), family Cynoglossidae found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean. Most species mainly occur in relatively shallow water, including estuaries. Some species are also found in Abyssal zon ...

'' M. Y. Lee,

& H. M. Chen, 2009 (Pepper-dot tonguefish) * '' Symphurus nebulosus'' ( Goode & T. H. Bean, 1883) (Freckled tonguefish) * '' Symphurus nigrescens''

Rafinesque Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; 22 October 178318 September 1840) was a French early 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ult ...

, 1810 (Tonguefish) * '' Symphurus normani'' Chabanaud, 1950 (Norman's tonguefish) * '' Symphurus novemfasciatus'' S. C. Shen & W. W. Lin, 1984 * '' Symphurus ocellaris''

& D. R. Robertson, 2005 (Ring-tail tonguefish) * '' Symphurus ocellatus'' von Bonde, 1922 (Double-spot tonguefish) * '' Symphurus oculellus''

, 1991 * '' Symphurus oligomerus'' Mahadeva &

, 1990 (Spot-fin tonguefish) * '' Symphurus ommaspilus'' J. E. Böhlke, 1961 (Ocellated tonguefish) * '' Symphurus orientalis'' ( Bleeker, 1879) * '' Symphurus parvus'' Ginsburg, 1951 (Pygmy tonguefish) * '' Symphurus pelicanus'' Ginsburg, 1951 (Long-tail tonguefish) * '' Symphurus piger'' ( Goode & T. H. Bean, 1886) (Deep-water tonguefish) * '' Symphurus plagiusa'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, 1766) (Black-cheek tonguefish) * '' Symphurus plagusia'' (

Bloch Bloch is a surname of German origin. Notable people with this surname include: A *Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881–1925), Austrian entrepreneur *Albert Bloch (1882–1961), American painter *Alexandre Bloch (1857–1919), French painter *Alfred Bloch ( ...

& J. G. Schneider, 1801) (Dusky-cheek tonguefish) * '' Symphurus prolatinaris''

, Nizinski & Mahadeva, 1991 (Half-striped tonguefish) * '' Symphurus pusillus'' ( Goode & T. H. Bean, 1885) (Northern tonguefish) * '' Symphurus regani'' M. C. W. Weber & de Beaufort, 1929 * '' Symphurus reticulatus''

, 1990 * '' Symphurus rhytisma'' J. E. Böhlke, 1961 (Patch-tail tonguefish) * '' Symphurus schultzi'' Chabanaud, 1955 * '' Symphurus septemstriatus'' ( Alcock, 1891) (Seven-band tonguefish) * '' Symphurus stigmosus''

, 1998 (Blotch-fin tonguefish) * '' Symphurus strictus'' C. H. Gilbert, 1905 (Black-belly tonguefish) * '' Symphurus tessellatus'' ( Quoy &

Gaimard Joseph Paul Gaimard (31 January 1793 – 10 December 1858) was a French naval surgeon and naturalist. Biography Gaimard was born at Saint-Zacharie on January 31, 1793. He studied medicine at the naval medical school in Toulon, subsequent ...

, 1824) * ''

Symphurus thermophilus ''Symphurus thermophilus'' is a species of tonguefish notable for being the only flatfish known to be an obligate inhabitant of hydrothermal vents. It is known to inhabit several widely dispersed locations in the western Pacific Ocean and occurs ...

& Hashimoto, 2008 (Western Pacific tonguefish) * '' Symphurus trewavasae'' Chabanaud, 1948 (Trewavas' tonguefish) * '' Symphurus trifasciatus'' ( Alcock, 1894) (Three-band tonguefish) * '' Symphurus undatus'' C. H. Gilbert, 1905 * '' Symphurus undecimplerus''

& Nizinski, 1990 (Dark-cheek tonguefish) * '' Symphurus urospilus'' Ginsburg, 1951 (Spot-tail tonguefish) * '' Symphurus vanmelleae'' Chabanaud, 1952 (Vanmelle's tonguefish) * '' Symphurus variegatus'' ( Gilchrist, 1903) * '' Symphurus varius'' Garman, 1899 (Mottled tonguefish) * '' Symphurus williamsi'' D. S. Jordan & Culver, 1895 (William's tonguefish) * '' Symphurus woodmasoni'' ( Alcock, 1889)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2785579 Cynoglossidae Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque Marine fish genera