Species: Symphurus pusillus, Northern Tonguefish

Symphurus pusillus (Goode & Bean, 1885)

Northern Tonguefish

Body highly compressed, elongate, oval, tapers to pointed tail; body moderately deep; head ~twice as wide as long; snout a little pointed; eyes small, close together on left side, about equal in position; no cover over pupil; mouth reaches to just behind front of pupil, lower jaw without fleshy crest on eye-side; 1 row of teeth along entire lower jaw of eye-side; teeth on front ¾ of eye-side top jaw; preopercle edge covered with skin; dorsal origin ~ above upper eye, 83-88 rays; anal fin 71-75 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 12 rays; 77-87 lateral scales; no scales on dorsal and anal fin rays on blind side; no lateral line.

Top side yellow-brown body with 2-6 light brown bars, usually only 3-4 obvious; some fish with a dark line along the center of middle of the body; inner lining of operculum un-pigmented; lining of gut cavity black; no dark patch on tail fin; blind side plain white to yellowish.

Size: 8.9 cm.

Habitat: mud bottoms.

Depth: 100-233 m.

New York to the N Gulf of Mexico.