Eques lanceolatus

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Vernacular names
English : Jackknife fish
French : Chevalier lancier

Classification
Class : Teleostei
Order : Eupercaria i. s. (sometimes still Perciformes)
Family : Sciaenidae
Notes : No subspecies known.

Identification
Adults can reach 25 cm. Small head, elongated body. Dorsal fin greatly elongated and mostly dark. Body yellow-grey with white-edged broad brown to black bands, one vertical on hand, the other oblique from dorsal fin to tail fin.

Range and habitat
The species occurs in the western Atlantic Ocean from North Carolina to Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea and South American coasts to south Brazil. Lives in coastal coral and rocky reefs, also sand and mud bottoms, to 230 m.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : LEAST CONCERN
CITES : Not Listed
Status : The species is widespread but dependent on reef areas for its survival. It is often caught for trade but this isn’t considered a threat.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

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