Systematics and ecology of 
tonguefishes of the genus Symphurus 
(Cynoglossidae: Pleuronectiformes) 
from the western Atlantic Ocean* 
Thomas A. JVSumroe 
National Marine Fisheries Service Systematics Laboratory, MRC-1 53 
National Museum of Natural History 
Washington, D.C. 20560-0153 
E-mail address: munroet@nmnh. si.edu 
Abstract.— The 24 species of the 
cynoglossid genus Symphurus Rafinesque, 
1810 occurring in the western Atlantic 
Ocean are revised. Symphurus species are 
found from the southern Scotian Shelf (ca. 
45°N ) southward to central Argentina (ca. 
45°S). These small to medium-size, left- 
sided flatfishes inhabit diverse substrates 
ranging from shallow estuarine habitats 
to deepwater substrates on the outer con- 
tinental shelf and upper continental slope. 
Thirty-four nominal species of symphurine 
tonguefishes have been described previ- 
ously from this area. Twenty-four, includ- 
ing two new species, are considered valid: 
S. arawak Robins and Randall, 1965, in 
shallow sandy habitats adjacent to coral 
reefs from Alligator Reef, Florida, through 
the Caribbean Sea to Colombia; S. billy- 
krietei, new species, on mud bottoms of the 
outer continental shelf from the southern 
Scotian Shelf (ca. 45°N ) to the central Gulf 
of Mexico, differing from other species in 
meristic and morphometric characters, 
black peritoneum, relatively small eye 
without pupillary operculum, dark brown 
stripe covering fin rays and connecting 
membranes on basal one-third of dorsal 
and anal fins, and small, darkly pigmented 
spot on scaly portion of caudal fin; S. 
caribbeanus Munroe, 1991, on sandy and 
silty substrates in estuarine and neritic 
waters in the Caribbean, including the 
Greater Antilles and coastal waters off 
Central America to Colombia; S. civitatium 
Ginsburg, 1951, on sand substrates in 
nearshore and neritic waters from Cape 
Hatteras, North Carolina, to the Yucatan 
Peninsula, and rarely at Bermuda; S. 
diomedeanus (Goode and Bean, 1885), 
widespread on continental shelf calcare- 
ous muds and sands from Cape Hatteras, 
North Carolina, through the Gulf of Mexico 
and Caribbean Sea, south to Uruguay; S. 
ginsburgi Menezes and Benvegnu, 1976, 
on outer continental shelf mud bottoms 
from about Cabo Frio, Brazil (ca. 23°S), to 
Maldonado, Uruguay (ca. 35°S )\S. jenynsi 
Evermann and Kendall, 1907, on mud bot- 
toms in neritic waters from near Cabo Frio, 
Brazil (ca. 22°S), to northern Argentina; 
S. kyaropterygium Menezes and Ben- 
vegnu, 1976, on the inner continental shelf 
from Baia da Ilha Grande (ca. 23°S) to Rio 
Grande do Sul (ca. 31°S); S. marginatus 
(Goode and Bean, 1886), on outer continen- 
tal shelf and upper continental slope mud 
bottoms from southern New Jersey (ca. 
40°N) to central Brazil (21°34'S); S. minor 
Ginsburg, 1951, primarily on live-bottom 
habitats off the southeastern United 
States and eastern Gulf of Mexico west- 
ward to about DeSoto Submarine Canyon 
Manuscript accepted 8 September 1997. 
Fishery Bulletin 96:1-182 (1998). 
(ca. 29°87'W), rarely off southern Scotian 
Shelf to ca. 44°N ; S. nebulosus ( Goode and 
Bean, 1883), on the outer continental shelf 
and upper continental slope from near 
Long Island, New York ( ca. 40°48'N ), to the 
Blake Plateau off Fort Lauderdale, Florida 
(ca. 26°28'N); S. oculellus Munroe, 1991, 
on the inner continental shelf on mud bot- 
toms from Guyana (57°W) to northeastern 
Brazil (2°S, 40°W); S. ommaspilus Bohlke, 
1961, on shallow-water sandy substrates 
in the Caribbean Sea from the Bahamas, 
Lesser Antilles, and Belize; S. parvus 
Ginsburg, 1951, on inner continental shelf 
mud bottoms from off Cape Lookout, North 
Carolina (ca. 34°23'N), through the Gulf 
of Mexico and Caribbean Sea to Venezu- 
ela; S. pelicanus Ginsburg, 1951, on conti- 
nental shelf soft mud bottoms from the 
western and central Gulf of Mexico and 
Caribbean Sea to Trinidad; S. piger (Goode 
and Bean, 1886), on the outer continental 
shelf and upper continental slope from 
southern Florida (ca. 30°N), the Gulf of 
Mexico, and throughout the Caribbean Sea 
to Suriname (ca. 7°N, 53'W); S. plagiusa 
(Linnaeus, 1766), on soft mud and silt sub- 
strates in estuarine and neritic habitats 
from Long Island Sound to the Campeche 
Peninsula, also the Bahamas and Cuba; 
S. plagusia (Schneider, in Bloch and 
Schneider, 1801), on sand and silt sub- 
strates in estuarine and neritic habitats 
from the Greater Antilles and Central 
America to about Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; 
S. pusillus (Goode and Bean, 1885), on the 
outer continental shelf from off Long Is- 
land, New York (ca. 40°N), to DeSoto Sub- 
marine Canyon in the eastern Gulf of 
Mexico (ca. 29°87'W); S. rhytisma Bohlke, 
1961, from the Bahamas, Belize, Curasao, 
and perhaps Brazil; S. stigmosus, new spe- 
cies, in deepwater areas of the Straits of 
Florida and Gulf Stream off southern 
Florida and in the Caribbean off Yucatan, 
Serrana Bank, and Dominica, differing 
from other species in its combination of 
meristic and morphometric features, black 
peritoneum, relatively large rounded con- 
tiguous eyes without pupillary operculum, 
and dorsal and anal fins with combination 
of 1) dark brown longitudinal stripe on 
basal one-third which covers fin rays and 
intervening membranes and 2) usually a 
series of distinct, darkly pigmented 
blotches alternating with unpigmented 
areas of somewhat larger size on posterior 
two-thirds of fins; S. tessellatus ( Quoy and 
Gaimard, 1824), on sandy and silty sub- 
strates in estuarine and neritic habitats 
from the Greater Antilles and Central 
America to northern Argentina; S. trewava- 
sae Chabanaud, 1948, on continental shelf 
mud bottoms from about Cabo Frio, Brazil 
(ca. 22°53'S), to central Argentina (ca. 
45°S); and S. urospilus Ginsburg, 1951, on 
live-bottom habitats on the inner continen- 
tal shelf from about Cape Hatteras, North 
Carolina, to Yucatan Peninsula, and Cuba. 
Seven species are synonymized. Achirus 
ornata Lacepede, 1802, and Plagusia 
brasiliensis Agassiz, in Spix and Agassiz, 
1831, are synonyms of Symphurus tessel- 
latus (Quoy and Gaimard, 1824); Plagusia 
fasciata DeKay, 1842, is a synonym of 
Symphurus plagiusa (Linnaeus, 1766); 
Symphurus bergi Thompson, 1916, is a syn- 
onym of S. jenynsi Evermann and Kendall; 
Symphurus sumptuosus Chabanaud, 1948, 
and S. pterospilotus Ginsburg, 1951, are syn- 
onyms ofS. diomedeanus (Goode and Bean, 
1885); and Symphurus meridionalis Lema 
and Oliveira, 1977, is a synonym of S. jenynsi 
Evermann and Kendall. Descriptions, differ- 
ential diagnoses, an artificial key, and sum- 
maries of ecological information are provided 
for 24 species of western Atlantic sym- 
phurine tonguefishes. 
* Contribution number 2081 of the Virginia 
Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester 
Point, Virginia 23062. 
