Roughscale tonguesole
Cynoglossus lida
- Usual depth5–35 m
- Water temperature16–30 °C
- Best monthsJanuary, August, and October
- How commonRare
About this species
Cynoglossus is a genus of fish in the family Cynoglossidae. Most species are indigenous to the Indo-Pacific region, but there are also a few in warmer parts of the East Atlantic. They are commonly found in shallow waters on a muddy or sandy bottom, including estuaries and a few species are restricted to fresh water. One species Cynoglossus sinusarabici has invaded the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal from the Red Sea, a process known as Lessepsian or Erythrean migration.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Cynoglossus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 4 records
- February: 3 records
- March: 2 records
- April: 1 records
- May: 2 records
- June: 0 records
- July: 2 records
- August: 5 records
- September: 3 records
- October: 6 records
- November: 0 records
- December: 0 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 5–35 m · Deepest record: 36 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 16–30 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Roughscale tonguesole, roughscale tonguesole, shoulderspot tonguesole
Names in 2 more languages
- Thai
- ปลายอดม่วงเกล็ดหยาบ
- Simplified Chinese
- 利達舌鰨, 南洋舌鰨, 扁魚, 比目魚, 牛舌, 皇帝魚, 龍舌
Other scientific names: Arelia lida, Arelia polytaenia, Cynoglossus intermedius, Cynoglossus os, Cynoglossus polytaenia, Plagusia lida, Plagusia polytaenia
Similar species
- Zanzibar tonguesole
Cynoglossus zanzibarensis
- Spotfin Tongue Sole
Cynoglossus maculipinnis
Broadhurst's Tongue-soleCynoglossus broadhursti
McCulloch's Tongue-soleCynoglossus maccullochi
Malabar SoleCynoglossus macrostomus
Speckled TonguesoleCynoglossus puncticeps
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 396 open-data records from 1851 to 2012.
- Species data updated November 2, 2026.
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