Equulites klunzingeri

Equulites klunzingeri has a laterally compressed, oblong body, large eyes and a downward pointing, protractile mouth, which can project to the same length as the head and with jaws line with villiform teeth. It has a long dorsal fin, starting above the pelvic fins, which has seven spines, the second of which is very long, and 15-16 soft rays. The anal fin has three spines and 15-16 soft rays. The dorsal and anal fin rays are sheathed in a scaly membrane. The tail is forked and the lateral lines continues on to the caudal peduncle. The skin is covered in small cycloid scales. The upper part of the body is mottled grey marked with pink blotches while the belly is silvery white and there is a black line along either side of the base of the dorsal fin. There is another black line immediately anterior to the eye and the iris is golden. It grows to standard length. ==Distribution==

Equulites klunzingeri is native to the Red Sea and it has been recorded in the Sea of Oman but not yet off the southern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. First recorded in the Mediterranean Sea off Syria in 1931 it has since invaded the eastern basin of the Mediterranean Sea by migrating through the Suez Canal and now reaches up to the coast of Croatia ==Biology==

Equulites klunzingeri is a demersal species, inhabiting inshore waters over sandy or muddy substrates and occurs down to a depth of 70m where it feeds on benthic invertebrates which are caught with the protruding mouth. ==Fisheries==

Equulites klunzingeri is not a quarry species for fisheries but it is taken as a bycatch in fisheries using trawls and seines. ==Taxonomy==

Equulites klunzingeri was first formally described as Equula klunzingeri in 1898 by the Austrian ichthyologist Franz Steindachner with the type locality given as the Gulf of Suez in Egypt. Steindachner did not specify the identity of the person honoured in its specific name but it is clearly the German physician and zoologist Carl Benjamin Klunzinger (1834-1914). ==References==