English

a tonguefish (Cynoglossus capensis)

Noun

tonguefish ‎(plural tonguefishes or tonguefish)

1. Any of the flatfishes in the taxonomic family Cynoglossidae, distinguished by the presence of a long hook on the snout overhanging the mouth.
   • 1988, Gar Goodson, Fishes of the Pacific Coast, page 163,

     Members of the family Cynoglossidae, the tonguefishes are for the most part too small to be of much interest as food fishes.

   • 1997, David W. Greenfield, Jamie E. Thomerson, Fishes of the Continental Waters of Belize, page 252,

     The tonguefishes are flatfishes found in the tropical and subtropical seas of the world, hut some species are found in freshwater hahitats (see Achiridae for a discussion of flatfishes).

   • 2010, Pat Senson, Nasty, Brutish, and Short: The Quirks and Quarks Guide to Animal Sex and Other Weird Behaviour, page 249,

     But the tonguefish are unaffected by the noxious gases.

     The ”narked" fish end up as chow for the tonguefish.

Synonyms

• (fish of family Cynoglossidae): cynoglossid

Translations