Pogonias drums are characterised by having rhomboidal, compressed bodies, with a low head and an almost horizontal mouth located beneath the snout. There are 5 pores on the chin with 3 pairs of small barbels and a further 8 to 22 barbels along the outer edge of the lower jaw. The preoperculum has no serrations. The dorsal fin has a deep incision dividing the spiny part at the front from the soft-rayed part. There are 11 thin spines and between 19 and 22 soft rays in the dorsal fin while the small anal fin has 2 spines and between 5 and 7 soft rays. The short pectoral fin does not extend as far as the anus,[9] These are large fishes with the maximum published total length of the black drum being 170 cm (67 in) and its maximum published weight being 51.3 kg (113 lb).[10]
Distribution and habitat
Pogonias drums are found in the western Atlantic and the two species are parapatric. The black drum is found as far north as the Bay of Fundy, although they are uncommon farther north than Chesapeake Bay and south to the Gulf of Mexico and the Bahamas, although absent from Cuba.[11] The Southern black drum is found in southeastern South America between Rio de Janeiro State and the southern San Matías Gulf in Patagonia. They are demersal coastal fishes which live on sandy or muudy bottoms and use estuaries as nursery areas.[8]
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