California Tonguefish

Symphurus atricauda

In-depth Information Regarding this Species

U.S. Range in the Pacific Ocean	Yaquina Bay, Oregon to Panama Rare north of Pt. Conception, California (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Habitat	Sometimes in estuaries (Love 1996)
Substrate	Sand or mud (Love 1996, Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Depth range (meters)	1.5–201 (Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Behavior	Active during night Buried during the day (Love 1996)
Average Maximum Overall Length (cm)	21 (Love 1996, Eschmeyer and Herald 1983)
Overall Length at Maturity (cm)	12.7 (Love 1996)
Time of Year of Spawning	May–October July and August (peak) (Love 1996)
Habitat where Eggs are found	Pelagic (Love 1996)
Length when Juvenile Settles out (cm)	2.5–5.1 (Love 1996)
Adult Food Preference	Amphipod, Crabs, Worms (Love 1996)
Commercial Fishery	None (Love 1996)
Ornamental Market	Possible (Love 1996)

Recent Wild Harvest Data for Oregon
Data from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Year	Total Catch (Pounds)	Ex-vessel Value ( U.S. Dollars)
1989	N/A	N/A
1990	N/A	N/A
1991	N/A	N/A
1992	N/A	N/A
1993	N/A	N/A
1994	N/A	N/A
1995	N/A	N/A
1996	N/A	N/A
1997	N/A	N/A
1998	N/A	N/A

© 2003 Stephen Sempier