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Symphurus plagiusa (Linnaeus, 1766)

Blackcheek tonguefish
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
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Symphurus plagiusa   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Symphurus plagiusa (Blackcheek tonguefish)
Symphurus plagiusa
Picture by Howell, W.M./Jenkins, R.L.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Pleuronectiformes (Flatfishes) > Cynoglossidae (Tonguefishes) > Symphurinae
Etymology: Symphurus: Greek, syn, symphysis = grown together + Greek, oura = tail (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; brackish; demersal; depth range 0 - 183 m (Ref. 26268), usually 1 - 30 m (Ref. 26268). Subtropical; 45°N - 15°N, 94°W - 65°W (Ref. 26268)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Atlantic: New York south through the Florida Keys (USA), through the northern Gulf of Mexico to the Campeche Peninsula, Mexico, the Bahamas, and Cuba.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 10.1, range 8 - ? cm
Max length : 21.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 52683)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal soft rays (total): 85 - 92; Anal soft rays: 69 - 72. Eyed side dark brown, sometimes with narrow bars; large blackish patch on opercle.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Very abundant in shallow coastal waters and estuaries. Found on soft muddy bottoms. Feeds mainly on small benthic invertebrates, principally small crabs, polychaetes, copepods, amphipods and ostracods.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p. (Ref. 7251)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 20 August 2012

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
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Eggs
Egg development
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Distribution
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BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
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Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
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Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
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Stamps, coins, misc.
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References

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | GoMexSI (interaction data) | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | OceanAdapt | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 17.7 - 27.9, mean 24.4 °C (based on 406 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00457 (0.00370 - 0.00565), b=3.19 (3.13 - 3.25), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.2   ±0.40 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tmax=5).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low to moderate vulnerability (32 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Very high.