A new species of tonguefish (Pleuronectiformes: Cynoglossidae) from Taiwanese waters

Symphurus multimaculatus new species, described from nine specimens captured in deep waters off Taiwan, is distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: predominant 1–2–2–2–2 pattern of interdigitation of dorsal pterygiophores and neural spines, 14 caudal-fin rays, 92–94 dorsal-fin rays, 79–82 anal-fin rays, 9 abdominal and 50–51 total vertebrae, 5 hypurals, deep body (28.6–35.1 % SL), small scales (102–108 scales in longitudinal series, 45–48 scales in transverse row), blackish-brown ocular-side opercle, bluish-black blind-side opercle, uniformly reddish-brown to dark-brown ocular-side background pigmentation with some specimens also having 5–7 mostly complete crossbands, and uniformly white to light-yellow blind side with dense patches of blackish-brown chromatophores predominantly covering pterygiophore regions of the dorsal and anal fins. Symphurus multimaculatus were retrieved from commercial catches of fishing trawlers landed at three regional fish ports operating in deep waters off northeastern and southwestern Taiwan. The only information associated with these specimens is the general region of capture based on where fishing trawlers operate. Data on relative abundance, depth of capture, geographic distribution, and microhabitat conditions where this species is captured are unavailable at this time.