Canary Tonguesole

Diagnosis: 10-13, exceptionally 14, transversal scales between the mid-lateral line and the margino-dorsal lateral line (Ref. 81682).

Found on sand and mud bottoms of coastal waters (Ref. 2683).

fisheries: commercial

Cynoglossus canariensis Steindachner

Cynoglossus canariensis Steindachner, 1882:13, pl. 2: fig. 2 [type-locality: Bane d’Argain, Canary Is.].—Chabanaud and Monod, 1926:284.—Fowler, 1936:526, fig. 249.—Chabanaud, 1949b:203.—Cadenat, 1960:1383.

Cynoglossus lagoensis Regan, 1915:129 [type-locality: Lagos].—Fowler. 1936:526.—Chabanaud, 1949b:207.

DESCRIPTION.—Based on 10 specimens 173.0–367.0 mm SL, including the lectotype and paralectotypes of C. lagoensis.

Depths of body 21.39–26.45 (M = 24.60) and length of head 20.23–24.19 (M = 21.51) percent of standard length. Diameter of eye 6.29–8.57 (M = 7.13), interorbital width 4.29–8.0 (M = 6.13) percent of length of head. Two nostrils on ocular side, anterior nostril of eyed side tubular, on upper lip in front of lower eye, posterior nostril simple, in anterior half of interorbital space. Snout pointed, 30.67–34.29 (M = 32.55) percent of length of head, rostral hook short and hardly reaching to vertical through front border of upper eye. Maxillary extending to well beyond fixed eye; angle of mouth extending to beyond vertical from posterior border of fixed eye, nearer to tip of snout than to branchial opening; snout to angle of mouth 46.58–52.86 (M = 49.33), angle of mouth to branchial opening 50.67–57.33 (M = 55.08) percent of length of head.

Scales: On eyed side (except on lateral lines) ctenoid in anterior part, cycloid posteriorly; scales on blind side and on lateral lines of eyed side cycloid.

Lateral-Line System: 3 lateral lines on ocular side, midlateral line with 76–88 scales. 10–13 (M = 12) scales between upper and middle lateral lines. One lateral line on blind side.

Interlinear scale rows 10 11 12 13

Frequencies 1 0 4 1

Fins: Dorsal with 125 and anal with 99 rays, caudal 12 in 3 specimens (radiographs).

Vertebrae: 57–59, comprising 9 abdominal and 48–50 caudal elements in 3 specimens (radiographs).

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

Size: Largest specimen examined, 546.0 (510 + 36) mm, is from Angola collected by the Discovery. BMNH 1935.5.11.228.

DISTRIBUTION.—West Africa: Canary Islands, Senegal to Angola.

DIAGNOSIS AND

Cynoglossus canariensis, commonly known as the Canary tonguesole is a species of tonguefish. It is commonly found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean off western Africa, from Mauritania and Western Sahara south to Angola, including the Canary Islands and Cape Verde Islands. It is a demersal species found at depths of 10-300m, it has been found in brackish water, but is normally a coastal species which occurs over substrates of sand or mud. It feeds on small fish and crustaceans. This species is targeted in trawl fisheries throughout its range and in many areas, it appears to have undergone significant declines. For example, in Gabon the mixed Cynoglossus stock is considered overexploited, while in other parts of western Africa such as Mauritania the stocks of Cynoglossus had declined by over 60% in the five or six years up to 2015. The IUCN list C. canariensis as Near Threatened due to is dependence on conservation.