Munroe: Systematics of western Atlantic Symphurus 
143 
and chin regions on blind side of body, occasionally 
extending onto ocular-side snout. Anterior nostril, 
when depressed posteriorly, not reaching anterior 
margin of lower eye. Jaws long; maxilla usually 
reaching posteriorly to point between verticals 
through middle and posterior margin of pupil of lower 
eye. Ocular-side lower jaw lacking fleshy ridge (Fig. 
3E). Teeth well developed on blind-side jaws. Mar- 
gin of ocular-side dentary usually with single, mostly 
incomplete row of slender teeth; margin of ocular- 
side premaxilla either with very short row of teeth 
anterior to vertical through base of anterior nostril 
or lacking teeth altogether. Chin depth slightly larger 
than snout length. Lower eye moderately small; eyes 
slightly subequal in position with upper usually 
slightly in advance of lower eye. Anterior and me- 
dial surfaces of eyes not covered with scales; usually 
1-3 small ctenoid scales in narrow interorbital re- 
gion. Pupillary operculum absent. Dorsal-fin origin 
usually reaching vertical through anterior margin 
of upper eye, or occasionally only reaching vertical 
line through middle of upper eye; predorsal length 
short. Four to eight scales present on blind sides (Fig. 
4A) of dorsal- and anal-fin rays (best developed on 
fin rays in posterior one-third of fin of specimens 
larger than 70 mm). Pelvic fin short; longest pelvic- 
fin ray, when extended posteriorly, usually reaching 
base of first anal-fin ray, or occasionally falling short 
of that point. Posteriormost pelvic-fin ray connected 
to body by delicate membrane terminating immedi- 
ately anterior to anus, or occasionally extending pos- 
teriorly almost to anal-fin origin (membrane torn in 
most specimens). Caudal fin short. Scales large, 
strongly ctenoid on both sides of body. 
Pigmentation (Fig. 62J General pattern of body 
pigmentation similar in both sexes at all sizes but 
usually more intense in sexually mature males. 
Males, especially those in breeding condition (col- 
lected with gravid females), usually with more in- 
tense banding, dark black fins, dark black spot on 
ocular-side opercle, and some specimens with irregu- 
larly shaped, black pigment patches on posterior one- 
half of blind side of body. In contrast, mature females 
also with crossbands, but less conspicuous than in 
males and with posterior portions of fins dark brown 
but usually not black. Females lack black pigment 
patches on blind side observed in males. 
Ocular-surface background pigmentation ranging 
from dark to light brown. Body usually with 5-9 (usu- 
ally 5-7) well-developed, sharply contrasting, rela- 
tively wide, dark brown crossbands on head and 
trunk. First two bands relatively consistent in posi- 
tion; first crossing head immediately posterior to 
eyes; second crossing body immediately behind oper- 
cular opening. Crossbands on trunk variable in num- 
ber and degree of completeness, especially those be- 
tween opercular opening and point about equal to 
two-thirds of trunk length. Males usually with 3-4 
well-developed and lesser number of incomplete 
bands along trunk. Two posteriormost bands, just 
anterior to caudal-fin base, slightly arched and usu- 
ally darker than others on body. Blind side usually 
uniformly creamy white; some mature males with 
irregular patches of black pigment on caudal one- 
third of blind side. Peritoneum unpigmented. Outer 
surface of ocular-side opercle usually with distinct, 
dark brown or black spot on ventral margin slightly 
anterior to posterior margin of opercle. Opercular 
spot ranging from almost spherical to dorsoventrally 
elongate black blotch covering most of lower opercle. 
Intensity of pigmentation in spot maximally devel- 
oped in sexually mature adults. Inner linings of 
opercles and isthmus on both sides of body heavily 
pigmented. Pigment band well developed on ocular- 
side upper lip; ocular-side lower lip frequently spot- 
ted, but without well-defined band. 
Anterior dorsal- and anal-fin rays usually streaked 
with brown pigment, more heavily pigmented than 
connecting membranes. Fin rays and membranes of 
dorsal and anal fins on posterior two-thirds of body 
becoming increasingly darker posteriorly. Males with 
posteriormost regions of fins almost uniformly black, 
whereas in females, posterior portions of fins, although 
darker than anterior regions, usually dark brown and 
not as intensively pigmented as in mature males. Cau- 
dal fin dark brown or black throughout its length. 
Size and sexual maturity (Fig. 9FJ Symphurus 
tessellatus is one of the largest species in the genus 
and is the second largest species of Atlantic 
tonguefish after S.jenynsi (Ginsburg, 1951; Menezes 
and Benvegnu, 1976; Munroe, 1987, 1991). Size-re- 
lated life history information is based on data from 
385 fish. Males and females attain nearly similar 
sizes, but females are somewhat larger. The largest 
fish measured in this study was a female of 220 mm; 
the largest male measured 205 mm. There were 214 
males (51.5-205 mm), 155 females (49.5-220 mm), 
and 16 immature fish (13.4-65.8 mm) of indetermi- 
nate sex among material examined. Mature females 
(n=124) ranged in size from 104 to 220 mm. Based 
on reproductive stages for females, sexual maturity 
in this species occurs at sizes of 104-120 mm, but 
usually larger than 115 mm. Most mature females 
exceeded 140 mm, with only nine smaller than 125 
mm and two smaller than 1 10 mm among fish exam- 
ined. Thirty-one females of 49.5-119 mm were im- 
mature. The smallest of these, measuring 49.5 and 
62.8 mm, had scarcely elongate ovaries. Other imma- 
