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Fishery Bulletin 96( 1 ), 1998 
Symphurus piger and S. pelicanus occur from south- 
ern Florida south to about Guyana and French 
Guiana, respectively. Symphurus plagusia and S. 
tessellatus range from the Caribbean region to warm- 
temperate areas in the South Atlantic. 
Six species endemic to western Atlantic tropical 
regions have somewhat restricted distributions. 
Symphurus arawak, S. rhytisma, and S. ommaspilus 
are dwarf species occurring primarily in the Carib- 
bean Sea on sand substrates on or near coral reefs 
or tropical seagrass meadows. These species have 
been reported from various localities in the Baha- 
mas, West Indies, and several insular locations with 
coral reefs. Only S. rhytisma extends beyond the 
Caribbean into tropical seas off Brazil (ca. 20-2 1°S), 
whereas S. arawak has been collected once at Alli- 
gator Reef off southern Florida (Starck, 1968). 
Symphurus caribbeanus occurs in shallow water from 
the Greater Antilles to Colombia. Symphurus 
oculellus has a restricted distribution in tropical 
waters from Guyana to northeastern Brazil (2°S). 
Symphurus stigmosus is known from 12 specimens 
taken in deep water in the Yucatan Channel, Straits 
of Florida, off southern Florida, and off Dominica. 
Interestingly, most specimens of S. stigmosus were 
in deep waters under strong surface currents, such 
as those in the Yucatan Channel and beneath the 
Florida Current. 
The fish fauna of the Argentinean Province (be- 
tween 21°S and 42°S) has a relatively low level (about 
10%) of endemic species (Figueiredo, 1981; Haimovici 
et al., 1994). Oceanographic features in this region 
are dynamic and characterized by temperature and 
salinity variations resulting from influences of sea- 
sonal shifts of the Subtropical Front and seasonal 
upwelling of cold waters off southeastern Brazil 
(Figueiredo, 1981; Matsuura, 1986). Seven species 
of symphurine tonguefishes reported from warm- 
temperate seas in the western South Atlantic are S. 
plagusia , S. tessellatus, S. diomedeanus, S. trewa- 
vasae, S. kyaropterygium , S. jenynsi, and S. gins- 
burgi. Of these, S. ginsburgi, S. kyaropterygium, S. 
trewavasae, and S. jenynsi are endemic to this re- 
gion. Symph urus plagusia is a tropical species reach- 
ing its southern limit at ca. 23°S. Symphurus dio- 
medeanus and S. tessellatus range to ca. 35°S, but S. 
diomedeanus is rare south of ca. 23°S, and S. tessellatus 
is also more common farther north. Most captures of <S. 
tessellatus south of 28°S are juveniles presumably 
transported southward by the Brazil Current. All speci- 
mens of S. kyaropterygium were collected between ca. 
24°S and 31°S. Symphurus ginsburgi ranges from 21° 
to 35°S, whereas most captures of S. trewavasae have 
been made within the warm-temperate region from 
23°S to 35°S, with the southernmost record at 45°S. 
Symphurus jenynsi occurs from southern Brazil to 
northern Argentina (ca. 28°-35°S). 
At the northeastern margin of the tropics in the 
western Atlantic, the warm Florida Current appears 
to demarcate the separation zone for tropical and 
temperate species of tonguefishes, especially those 
inhabiting shallow waters. This oceanographic fea- 
ture strongly influences the distributions of many 
marine fishes (Robins, 1971). Few shallow-water 
tonguefishes regularly transcend this boundary. For 
example, occurrences of temperate species, such as 
S. civitatium and S. urospilus, in the West Indies 
tropical region are based on a single specimen of S. 
civitatium that had washed onto a beach at Bermuda 
(ANSP 137573) and a specimen ofS. urospilus taken 
off Cuba (Vergara Rodriguez, 1976). Inclusion of these 
species among faunal lists of fishes for Bermuda and 
Cuba are based on these records, but it is doubtful 
that either is a regular component of the fish fauna 
of these areas. Symphurus plagiusa, widely distrib- 
uted along the southeastern United States and north- 
ern Gulf of Mexico, has a limited West Indian distri- 
bution at Cuba (Ginsburg, 1951, this study) and the 
Bahamas (Bohlke and Chaplin, 1968). Of tropical 
species, only S. arawak has been collected west of 
the Florida Current off southern Florida (Starck, 
1968). None of the other common shallow-water tropi- 
cal species (i.e. S. plagusia, S. tessellatus , S. ommas- 
pilus, or S. caribbeanus) have been reported from 
locations along the continental United States. 
In the southern western Atlantic, the boundary 
between tropical and temperate regions (Briggs, 
1974; Figueiredo, 1981) occurs at approximately Cabo 
Frio between 21°S and 23°S latitude. Symphurus 
plagusia reaches its southern limit of distribution at 
about 23°S latitude, whereas southern limits of S. 
marginatus and S. rhytisma are located slightly 
northward of this point (ca. 20-2 1°S). Although S. 
diomedeanus is also known from areas south of 23°S, 
the majority of captures of this species off South 
America are made in tropical seas off northeastern 
Brazil (Menezes and Benvegnu, 1976). Symphurus 
tessellatus is another species found south of 23°S, 
albeit primarily as juveniles presumably transported 
south by the Brazil current (Munroe, 1991). 
Diversity 
Including two new species described in this study, 
24 of 72 recognized species in Symphurus occur in 
the western Atlantic Ocean (Munroe, 1992). In terms 
of relative numbers of species, Symphurus is the most 
speciose of genera recognized in Cynoglossidae; ap- 
proximately 49 species are assigned to Cynoglossus 
(Menon, 1977), whereas approximately five species 
