Species: Symphurus marginatus, Margined Tonguefish
gut cavity black

no pupil cover
Symphurus marginatus (Goode & Bean, 1886)
Margined Tonguefish
Body highly compressed, elongate, oval, tapers to pointed tail, relatively elongated, nearly uniform width along front 2/3 and only a gradual taper at the rear; head long and narrow; small close-set eyes on left side; no cover for pupils; snout rounded; mouth small, curved, strongly so on blind side, extends to below front edge of lower eye; lower jaw without fleshy crest on eye-side; eye side lower jaw with a row of teeth all along its length, top jaw with a row along at least front 3/4; preopercle edge covered with skin; dorsal fin origin ~ above upper eye, 93-104 rays; anal fin 80-89 rays; pectoral fins absent, represented by a fine membrane; only left pelvic fin present, 4 rays, on body midline, joined to anal fin by delicate membrane; dorsal and anal fins confluent with the pointed caudal fin; tail usually 12 rays; scales rough, on both sides of body; 86-99 lateral scales; front parts of eyes partly covered with rough scales; no lateral line.
Top side uniform dark brown; a dark, circular blotch covering tail and tail base; lining of gut cavity black; blind side white to yellowish, without dark dots; dorsal and anal with a dark stripe along their bases, dark at rear, especially around tail blotch; tail fin dark at front, pale at rear.
Size: 15.5 cm.
Habitat: soft mud bottoms.
Depth: 37-1758 m (mostly between 320-550 m).
New Jersey to SE Brazil.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Soft bottom only
- Mud
- FishBase Habitat
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- Bathydemersal
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Mobile benthic worms
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- All species
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Also in Brazil
- Continent
- Continent + Island (s)
- Continental primarily
- Extends N + S of GC
- Extends North of GC
- Extends South of GC
- GC non-endemic
- Island (s)
- All species
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Temperate (>35N)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 15.5
- Depth Range Min
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- 37
- Depth Range Max
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- 1758