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Tonguefish
Northern tonguefish, Symphurus pusillus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Carangiformes
Suborder:	Pleuronectoidei
Family:	Cynoglossidae Jordan, 1888
Subfamilies & genera
Subfamily Cynoglossinae Cynoglossus Paraplagusia Subfamily Symphurinae Symphurus

Tonguefishes are flatfish in the family Cynoglossidae. They are distinguished by the presence of a long hook on the snout overhanging the mouth, and the absence of pectoral fins. Their eyes are both on the left side of their bodies, which also lack a pelvic fin. This family has three genera with a total of more than 140 species. The largest reaches a length of 66 cm (26 in), though most species only reach half that size or less. They are found in tropical and subtropical oceans, mainly in shallow waters and estuaries, though some species are found in deep sea floors, and even a few in rivers.

Symphurus thermophilus lives congregating around "ponds" of sulphur at hydrothermal vents on the seafloor. No other flatfish is known from hydrothermal vents. Scientists are unsure of the mechanism that allows the fish to survive and even thrive in such a hostile environment.

See also

• List of fish families

References

1. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Family Cynoglossidae". FishBase. October 2012 version.
2. Chapleau, Francois; Amaoka, Kunio (1998). Paxton, J. R.; Eschmeyer, W. N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 225. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
3. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Cynoglossus". FishBase. May 2014 version.
4. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Paraplagusia". FishBase. May 2014 version.
5. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Symphurus". FishBase. May 2014 version.
6. Munroe, Thomas A.; Marsh, Barnaby N. (1997). "Taxonomic status of three nominal species of Indo-Pacific symphurine tonguefishes (Symphurus: Cynoglossidae: Pleuronectiformes)". Ichthyological Research. 44 (2–3): 189–200. doi:10.1007/BF02678697. S2CID 46661658. Retrieved 2015-11-01.
7. Munroe, Thomas A.; Hashimoto, Jun (1 August 2008). "A new Western Pacific Tonguefish (Pleuronectiformes: Cynoglossidae): The first Pleuronectiform discovered at active Hydrothermal Vents" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1839: 43–59. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1839.1.2.
8. Amos, Jonathan (14 December 2006). "Fish dance on sulphur cauldrons". BBC News. Retrieved 25 May 2010.

v t e Flatfish
Generally larger flatfish	Halibut True (2 species) Atlantic halibut Pacific halibut Other Arrowtooth halibut Shotted halibut Greenland halibut Spotted halibut California halibut Bastard halibut Plaice (4 species) European plaice American plaice Alaska plaice Scale-eye plaice More... Turbot True (1 species) Scophthalmus maximus More... Spiny (3 species) Psettodidae Other Diamond turbot Hornyhead turbot New Zealand turbot Ocellated turbot Spotted turbot
Generally smaller flatfish	Sole True (135 species) Common (Dover) sole Finless sole Soleichthys heterorhinos Yellow sole More... American (28 species) Achiridae More... Tongue (138 species) Bengal tongue sole Canary tonguesole Carrot tonguesole Cynoglossus suyeni Durban tonguesole Fourline tonguesole Fourlined tonguesole Ghanaian tonguesole Hooked tonguesole Largescale tonguesole Natal tongue-fish Nigerian tonguesole Ripplefin tonguesole River tonguesole Roundhead tonguesole Sand tonguefish Sharpnose tonguesole Southern tongue sole Speckled tonguesole Symphurus thermophilus Three-lined tongue sole More... Other Butter sole Curlfin sole Deepsea sole Dusky sole English sole Flathead sole Lemon sole New Zealand sole Northern rock sole Pacific sand sole Petrale sole Rex sole Rock sole Roughscale sole Slender sole Southern lemon sole Speckled sole Yellowfin sole Other flounder Lefteye (158 species) Crested flounder Flowery flounder Leopard flounder Plate fish Mediterranean scaldfish Twospot flounder Witch More... Righteye (101 species) American smooth flounder Arctic flounder Arrowtooth flounder Banded-fin flounder Barfin flounder Black flounder Blackfin flounder Bering flounder Cleisthenes herzensteini Cleisthenes pinetorum Comb flounder Cresthead flounder Derwent flounder European flounder Far Eastern smooth flounder Flathead flounder Greenback flounder Hypsopsetta macrocephala Indonesian ocellated flounder Kamchatka flounder Large-scale righteye flounder Marbled flounder Marleyella maldivensis Microstomus shuntovi Narrow-body righteye flounder New Zealand flounder Peltorhamphus tenuis Peppered flounder Pseudopleuronectes obscurus Remo flounder Ridged-eye flounder Sakhalin sole Slime flounder Small-mouth righteye flounder Speckled flounder Starry flounder Stone flounder Willowy flounder Winter flounder Witch (righteye) Yellow striped flounder Yellowbelly flounder Yellowtail flounder More... Large tooth (115 species) Anglefin whiff Bigmouth sanddab California halibut Cephalopsetta ventrocellatus Fine flounder Five-eyed flounder Five-rayed sanddab Fourspot flounder Gray flounder Gulf sanddab Horned whiff Longfin sanddab Mimic sanddab Olive flounder Pacific sanddab Peacock flounder Sand whiff Shrimp flounder Small sanddab Speckled sanddab Spotfin flounder Three-eye flounder Thysanopsetta naresi Veracruz whiff More... Southern (6 species) Antarctic armless flounder Armless flounder Finless flounder Paralichthys lethostigma Southern flounder More... Other Citharidae Samaridae Misc Common dab Chinese brill Deepwater dab Longhead dab New Zealand brill Scale-eye plaice Fluke
Related	Demersal fish Transitional fossils Amphistium Heteronectes As food Sole meunière Turbot War
Predator billfish bonito mackerel salmon shark tuna Forage anchovy herring menhaden sardine shad sprat Demersal cod flatfish pollock ray

• Cynoglossidae
• Taxa named by David Starr Jordan