Species: Symphurus pelicanus, Longtail Tonguefish

Symphurus pelicanus Ginsburg, 1951

Longtail Tonguefish

Body highly compressed, elongate, oval, tapers to pointed tail, slender, widest at middle; head long and wide, snout long and pointed; small close-set eyes on left side; lower eye larger; 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; teeth along entire length of lower eyeside jaw, front ¾ of upper jaw; preopercle edge covered with skin; dorsal fin origin ~ above upper eye, 75-85 rays, its origin behind or over rear edge of top eye; anal fin 64-70 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 fin usually 12 rays; scales rough, on both sides of body; 62-70 lateral scales; eyes with 3-4 rows of small rough scales on front half; no lateral line.

Top side uniform pale brown to yellowish; sometimes faint crossbars; blind side white, heavily dusted with dark dots, particularly at bases of fin rays; peritoneum black; median fins as body, although tail sometimes with poorly defined spot at its base.

Size: 9 cm.

Habitat: silt and soft mud bottoms.

Depth: 24-530 m.

The Gulf of Mexico to Guyana.