Sand tongue
| Sand tongue | ||||||||||||
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Sand tongue ( Pegusa lascaris ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pegusa lascaris | ||||||||||||
| ( Risso , 1810) |
The sand tongue ( Pegusa lascaris ) is a small flatfish from the eastern Atlantic. Its distribution area extends from the British Isles (not on the North Sea coast) and the English Channel over the Biscay , the coast of the Iberian Peninsula to Angola . It is also found in the Mediterranean , Black and Azov Seas .
features
Tongues of sand become 40 centimeters long. Their upper side is brown-yellow or reddish-brown with indistinct spots. The last fin rays their dorsal and anal fins are separated by a membrane with the tail fin connected. The pectoral fin on the side of the eye has a dark, light-edged spot. The nostrils are large and close together.
Fin formula : dorsal 69–87, anal 53–73
Way of life
It lives on rubble, sand or mud, at depths of 5 to 50, up to a maximum of 350 meters, and also goes in brackish water . Sand tongues feed on small bottom-dwelling invertebrates, such as flea crabs , hover shrimp , prawns, small decapods , clams, and bristle worms . In the English Channel the fish spawn from May to July, in the south much earlier.
literature
- Bent J. Muus, Jørgen G. Nielsen: The marine fish of Europe in the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Atlantic. Kosmos, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-440-07804-3 .
Web links
- Sand Tongue on Fishbase.org (English)