Equetus lanceolatus
Jackknife-Fish
Collection Details
Specimens
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Sciaenidae (Drums and Croakers)
Equetus
Equetus lanceolatus (Jackknife-Fish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
McEachran & Fechhelm (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Oblong and moderately compressed body, back elevated and strongly tapering to narrow caudal peduncle. Dorsal profile of head nearly straight, snout blunt and broadly rounded. Mouth small, inferior, and oblique. Jaw teeth villiform, arranged in broad bands. Preopercular margin membranous. First gill arch with 5 or 6 short gill rakers on upper limb and 10 to 13 on lower limb. Measurements (% SL): head length 26%–27%, snout length 7%–9%, eye diameter 6%–7%, upper jaw length 9%–10%, length of longest dorsal fin spine 55%–65%, body depth 34%–36%. Pectoral fin with 14 to 16 rays. Dorsal fin with 12 or 13 spines in anterior section and 1 spine and 47 to 55 rays in posterior section. Anal fin with 2 spines and 6 rays. Caudal fin lanceolate. Body and head covered with ctenoid scales. Gas bladder simple and carrot shaped.
Tan with three broad black bands. Upper band runs from tip of dorsal fin to tip of caudal fin. Middle band runs from nape to base of pelvic fin and is white edged. Lower band runs from top of head to corner of mouth and is white edged. Pectoral, dorsal, and anal fins pale. Juveniles yellow and black with proportionally longer anterior section of dorsal fin and pelvic fin than adults.
Distribution
Coastal waters in the western Atlantic from South Carolina and Bermuda to Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the Antilles.
Habitat Associations
Coastal waters
Comments On Equetus lanceolatus