Fishery Bulletin 96( 1 ), 1 998 
1 18 
Size and sexual maturity (Fig. 9AJ Symphurus 
urospilus is a relatively large tonguefish attaining 
lengths of about 166 mm. Most specimens (87/112) 
ranged between 101 and 150 mm. Only two speci- 
mens (166 and 150.1 mm) exceeded 150 mm. Males 
and females reach similar sizes, with males slightly 
larger. The two largest specimens examined ( 166 and 
150 mm) were males, whereas the largest female 
measured 149.2 mm. Specimens smaller than 50 mm 
are generally rare in collections, with only four avail- 
able to this study (see below). Of 108 specimens for 
which size-related life history information was avail- 
able, there were 56 males (90.4-166 mm), 46 females 
(88.8-149.2), and six immature fish (25.0-56.8 mm) 
of undetermined sex. Based on reproductive stages 
of females, sexual maturity occurs at the relatively 
large size of ca. 100 mm. Only two of eight females 
88-100 mm were mature with fully elongate or gravid 
ovaries (one each, respectively). Six females between 
91.9 and 99.9 mm were immature with ovaries just 
undergoing elongation. All females >100 mm were 
mature with either fully elongate or gravid ovaries. 
The smallest gravid female was 88.8 mm, an appar- 
ently unusual specimen because the other 16 gravid 
females were 101-149 mm. 
Of interest is the general absence of small juve- 
niles of this species in the collections examined. Only 
six small fish (25.0-56.8 mm) were found. Because 
juveniles and adults of this species inhabit live-bot- 
tom substrates (see below), relative scarcity of small 
juveniles in collections may reflect the limited suc- 
cess of conventional trawling gear generally in cap- 
turing small flatfishes in this habitat, or it could also 
indicate that juveniles occur in habitats other than 
those usually sampled by trawling. 
Geographic distribution (Fig. 53 J A warm-temper- 
ate species with a fairly restricted and somewhat 
discontinuous distribution in the western North At- 
lantic from just south of Cape Hatteras, North Caro- 
lina, through the Gulf of Mexico to the Campeche 
Bank region off the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. There 
is also a single citation of this species from Cuba 
(Vergara Rodriguez, 1976). The occurrence of S. 
urospilus corresponds with the general distribution 
of live-bottom habitats in the region. 
Along the southeastern Atlantic coast of the United 
States, S. urospilus ranges from south of Cape 
Hatteras, North Carolina, to southern Florida. In the 
Gulf of Mexico, it has been taken at the southern tip 
of Florida, including the Florida Keys and Tortugas 
regions, and is common in the eastern Gulf along 
the west Florida shelf, as far north and west as 
Apalachee Bay (Topp and Hoff, 1972). I did not ex- 
amine specimens collected in the central Gulf of 
Figure 53 
Geographic distribution of Symphurus urospilus based on mate- 
rial examined (discussion of geographic distribution appears in 
species account). 
Mexico, but several lots taken on the inner continen- 
tal shelf in the western Gulf off western Louisiana 
and Texas contained this species. Symphurus 
urospilus also occurs on live-bottom substrates in the 
Campeche Bank region of the Yucatan Peninsula, 
Mexico (Hildebrand, 1955; Topp and Hoff, 1972). 
Bathymetric distribution Symphurus urospilus 
examined in this study were taken at depths of 5— 
324 m (Table 10). The center of abundance for this 
species, where 122/126 (96%) of the specimens ex- 
amined in this study were captured, occurs on live- 
bottom substrates in the relatively narrow depth zone 
between 5 and 40 m. Symphurus urospilus has not 
been reported from estuarine areas, and all juveniles 
examined, including the two smallest specimens (25.0 
and 26.2 mm), were collected on live-bottom sub- 
strates on the inner continental shelf at depths oc- 
cupied by adults. 
Only four S. urospilus examined in this study were 
taken deeper than 40 m (one each at 42 and 64 m, 
and two at 324 m). The capture depth (324 m) for 
two specimens in TU 14789 is very unusual for this 
species because it is 260 m deeper than any other 
recorded for the species. Depth of capture for this 
station appears legitimate because other fishes col- 
lected in the trawl with these tonguefish.es include 
chlorophthalmids and macrourids, typical deep-sea 
species. 
Ecology Little is known regarding the life history 
of S. urospilus. From their small samples collected 
on the west Florida shelf, Topp and Hoff ( 1972) noted 
that S. urospilus were taken at bottom temperatures 
