Eques is a small genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the familySciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found in the Western Atlantic Ocean.
Eques drums have an oblong body that is deep anteriorly and tapers towards the caudal peduncle. The snout protrudes over the horizontal mouth. There are 5 pores and no barbels on the chin. The preoperculum has weak serrations along its edge and the upper angle of the operculum is incised. They have a long-based dorsal fin which is deeply incised, the incision separates the spiny portion from the soft rayed portion of the fin. The spiny portion of the dorsal fin is very high with the spines being longer than the head and the soft rayed part is supported by more than 45 rays. The anal fin is short-based with 2 spines, the second spine being robust, and 6 soft rays. The lateral line extends to the centre of the caudal fin. Theare are wide oblique black bars on the body.[6] The two species in the genus are similar in size with maximum published total lengths of 25 cm (9.8 in) for E. lanceolatus[7] and 25 cm (9.8 in) for E. punctatus.[8]
Distribution and habitat
Eques drums are found in the Western Atlantic Ocean from Bermuda and North Carolina south to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. They are found in association with reefs at depths between 10 and 60 m (33 and 197 ft).[7][8]