Speckled Tonguesole
Cynoglossus puncticeps
- Usual depth1–33 m
- Water temperature25–30 °C
- Best monthsAugust
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) renjus box, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Cynoglossus puncticeps, commonly known as the speckled tonguesole is a species of tonguefish. It is indigenous to the Indo-West Pacific region, commonly found in shallow muddy or sandy waters along the coast of the Philippines, Thailand, the Malay Peninsula, Burma, the Bay of Bengal and off Papua New Guinea and northern Australia.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Cynoglossus puncticeps”, 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: 10 records
- February: 4 records
- March: 8 records
- April: 8 records
- May: 14 records
- June: 13 records
- July: 13 records
- August: 27 records
- September: 11 records
- October: 12 records
- November: 7 records
- December: 10 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 1–33 m · Deepest record: 37 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 25–30 °C
Photos
(c) Doreen, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Speckled Tonguesole, spotted tonguesole, Spotted Tongue-sole
Names in 2 more languages
- Thai
- ปลาช่างชุน, ปลายอดม่วงลายแถบ
- Simplified Chinese
- 扁魚, 斑頭舌鰨, 比目魚, 牛舌, 皇帝魚, 龍舌
Other scientific names: Arelia brachyrhynchos, Arelia javanica, Cynoglossus aurolimbatus, Cynoglossus aurolineatus, Cynoglossus brachyrhynchus, Cynoglossus brevis, Cynoglossus nigrolabeculatus, Cynoglossus punticeps, Plagiusa aurolimbata, Plagiusa nigrolabeculata, Plagusia aurolimbata, Plagusia brachyrhynchos, Plagusia javanica, Plagusia nigrolabeculata, Plagusia puncticeps, Plagusia punticeps
Similar species
- Fourlined tonguesole
Cynoglossus bilineatus
- Bengal tonguesole
Cynoglossus cynoglossus
- Kop's Tonguesole
Cynoglossus kopsii
- Suyen's Tongue Sole
Cynoglossus suyeni
- Doublelined Tonguesole
Paraplagusia bilineata
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).
- 267 open-data records from 1846 to 2012.
- Species data updated October 26, 2026.
Log what you see on your next dive
The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.