A tonguesole of up to 46 cm, light brown with darker blotches, the body drawn out into the tapering leaf shape the group is named for. Both eyes are on the left side and the fin fringe continues around the pointed rear end with no distinct tail. It lies buried on sand and mud through the day and feeds at night on benthic invertebrates, quartering the bottom with the body pressed flat. The range is narrower than most of the group - the western 🌊 Indian Ocean, from the 🌊 Red Sea to 🇴🇲 Oman and the 🇸🇨 Seychelles - which makes it one of the region's more local flatfishes.
The genus. Cynoglossus Hamilton 1822 - cyno- (dog) + glossus (tongue). ETYFish
The species. Cynoglossus lachneri Menon 1977 - Honours Ernest A. Lachner. ETYFish
- light brown with darker blotches
- long, tapering leaf-shaped body
- both eyes on the left side
Why it's threatened
No known major threats.
Threat classification from the IUCN Red List.
