Carrot Tonguesole

Inhabits sandy and muddy bottoms of the continental shelf. Feeds mainly on bottom-living invertebrates.

Inhabits sandy and muddy bottoms of the continental shelf. Feeds mainly on bottom-living invertebrates (Ref. 2872).

fisheries: commercial

Cynoglossus dubius Day

Cynoglossus dubius Day. 1873:525 [type-locality: Gwadur]; 1877:435, pl. 95: fig. 2: 1889:456.—Norman, 1928:200.—Saramma, 1963:75 [Kerala coast].—Pradhan, 1964:458 [Bombay coast].

DESCRIPTION.—Based on 8 specimens, 257.0–450.0 SL.

Depth of body 27.24–30.86 (M = 29.23), length of head 23.46–26.07 (M = 24.79) percent of standard length. Diameter of eye 5.97–7.61 (M = 6.65), interorbital width pronounced, 7.46–9.72 (M = 8.42) percent of length of head. Anterior nostril of eyed side tubular, on upper lip in front of fixed eye, the posterior in the anterior half of interorbital space, or in the middle of it. Snout obtusely pointed, 40.30–45.78 (M = 42.62) percent of length of head, rostral hook rather short, extending to just beyond mandibular symphysis. Maxillary extending to beyond posterior border of fixed eye; angle of mouth extending below vertical from posterior border of fixed eye, or a little beyond, nearer to branchial opening than to tip of snout; snout to angle of mouth 52.63–54.35 (M = 53.74), angle of mouth to branchial opening 45.37–50.53 (M = 47.33) percent of length of head.

Scales: Cycloid on both sides, except along both dorsal and anal fins toward the posterior side of the ocular side, where the scales are weakly ctenoid.

Lateral-Line System: Two lateral lines on eyed side, midlateral line with 98–104 scales, 17–21 scales between two lateral lines. One lateral line on blind side. The midlateral line on ocular side instead of opening through simple pores on every scale opens by means of ducts into the adjoining scale, generally one duct on one side followed by three ducts on the other side (Figure 2).

Intetlinear scale rows 17 18 19 20 21

Frequencies 3 3 11 0 1

Fins: Dorsal with 111–114 (M = 113) rays, anal with 88–91 (90) rays, caudal 12 in 5 specimens (radiographs).

Vertebrae: 52–53, comprising 9 abdominal and 43–44 caudal elements in 5 specimens (radiographs).

Coloration: Upper side uniformly brown, lower whitish in preserved specimens.

Size: The largest specimen examined, 447.0 (450 + 27) mm, is from the Arabian Sea, trawled by Anton Bruun (lat. 23° 16′N, long. 67°56′E).

DISTRIBUTION.—West coast of India.

DIAGNOSIS AND

Cynoglossus dubius, commonly known as the Carrot tonguesole is a species of tonguefish. It is commonly found in the Indian Ocean off the coast of India.