CYNOGLOSSIDAE


Cynoglossus arel, 23.7 cm SL
(preserved specimen; photo by Koichi Shibukawa)



Cynoglossus arel, 14.6 cm SL
(from Selangor, Malaysia; photo by Seishi Kimura)


Cynoglossus arel
(Bloch and Schneider, 1801)
Largescale Tonguesole

D 116-130; A 85-98; P2 4; LL 56-70 (midlateral line); V 50-57.

Body elongate, strongly compressed. Snout long, obtusely pointed. Mouth small, reaching to or beyond posterior margin of lower eye. Both eyes on left side of head; interorbital space narrow with scales. Caudal fin usually with 10 rays. Scales large, ctenoid on eyed side, cycloid on eyeless side. Two lateral lines on eyed side of body; upper one along dorsal-fin base, lower one midlaterally on body; none on eyeless side. Color: eyed side of body almost uniformly brownish; eyeless side of body whitish. Size: maximum length 40 cm. Distribution: Indo-West Pacific, from Red Sea to Indonesia excluding New Guinea, north to southern Japan. Remarks: inhabits sandy and muddy bottoms. Marketed fresh or dried. (Seishi Kimura)