black cow-tongue; Paraplagusia japonica
A species of tonguefish found in East Asian waters. The name refers to its resemblance to a black cow's tongue.
I found a black cow-tongue at the market.
Katakana spelling is common for this fish name; usually written in kana.
Kanji spelling is rare and may be encountered in older or specialized texts.
Alternate kanji spelling; very rare.
The name literally means 'black cow's tongue', from 黒 (kuro, 'black') + 牛 (ushi, 'cow') + の (no, possessive particle) + 舌 (shita, 'tongue'), referring to the fish's shape and color.