Species: Symphurus oculellus, Caribbean Smalleye Tonguefish

Symphurus oculellus Munroe, 1991

Caribbean Smalleye Tonguefish

Body highly compressed, elongate, oval, tapers to pointed tail, relatively elongate; head wide, its length < width; snout long and rounded; small close-set eyes on left side; lower eye small, about same position as upper eye; no cover for pupils; snout rounded; mouth small, curved, strongly so on blind side, reaches under or past rear edge of lower eye; eye side lower jaw with fleshy crest; preopercle edge covered with skin; dorsal fin 97-106 rays, its origin behind or over rear edge of top eye; anal fin 81-89 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 fin usually 12 rays; scales rough, on both sides of body; 84-97 lateral scales; eyes without scales on front half; rear rays of dorsal and anal without rough scales on blind-side; no lateral line.

Top side brown, 10-14 narrow dark crossbars on head and body; outer side of operculum on eye side with a dark blotch; inside gill cover very dark on eye side; lining of gut cavity not pigmented; dorsal and anal fins with alternating dark and light blotches at rear; tail fin with outer 2/3 dark, inner 1/3 lighter.

Size: 20 cm.

Habitat: mud bottoms

Depth: 7-110 m.

The SW Gulf of Mexico; Guyana to north east Brazil.