Flathead grey mullet
Flathead grey mullet | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Mugiliformes |
Family: | Mugilidae |
Genus: | Mugil |
Species: | M. cephalus
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Binomial name | |
Mugil cephalus | |
Synonyms | |
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The flathead grey mullet
The flathead grey mullet is a mainly diurnal coastal species that often enters estuaries and rivers. It usually schools over sand or mud bottoms, feeding on zooplankton, dead plant matter, microalgae and detritus.[4] The adult fish normally feed on algae in fresh water. The species is euryhaline, meaning that the fish can acclimate to different levels of salinity.[5]
Description
The back of the fish is olive-green, sides are silvery and shade to white towards the belly.[2] The fish may have six to seven distinctive lateral horizontal stripes. Lips are thin.[2] The mullet has no lateral line. A common length is about 50 centimetres (20 in), and its maximum length is 100 centimetres (39 in).[2] It can reach a maximum weight of eight kilograms (18 lb).[5]
Distribution
The flathead mullet is cosmopolitan in coastal waters of the tropical, subtropical and temperate zones of all seas,[2] as far north as the Bay of Biscay and Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean.[1] It occupies fresh, brackish and marine habitats in depths ranging between 0–120 metres (0–394 ft) and with temperatures between 8–24 °C (46–75 °F).[5]
In Australia, the fish is widespread, from
In freshwaters of the western United States, the striped mullet historically ranged far up the Colorado River to the vicinity of Blythe and up the Gila River to perhaps Tacna. Because of the dams and restricted flows to the Gulf of California, the range in Arizona is restricted to the Colorado River below Laguna Dam and the lower end of the Gila River when there is water present. They are often abundant in the mainstream and lateral canals in the Gila River region.[7]
In the Colorado River mullet are pelagic in larger pools, sometimes moving into currents below dams, and generally occurring in small groups.[5]
The mullet populations are currently declining in Arizona, due to periods when the Colorado River does not reach the Gulf of California.[citation needed]
Fisheries and aquaculture
The flathead grey mullet is an important food fish around the world, and it is both fished and farmed. The reported worldwide catches from fishing in 2012 were about 130,000 tonnes and aquaculture production was 142,000 tonnes.[8]
Development
The
Cuisine
The
On the coast of Northwest Florida and Alabama, this mullet, called the striped or black mullet, is often a specialty of seafood restaurants. Fried mullet is most popular, but smoked, baked, and canned mullet are also eaten. Local fishermen usually catch mullet in a
References
- ^ .
- ^ a b c d e f Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2014). "Mugil cephalus" in FishBase. April 2014 version.
- ^ Common names of Mugil cephalus FishBase (2014)
- ^ "Mugil cephalus (Black mullet)". Animal Diversity Web.
- ^ a b c d Minckley, W.L. 1973. Fishes of Arizona. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix. pp. 257-258.
- ^ Gomon, M.F.; Bray, D.J. (2019). "Mugil cephalus". Fishes of Australia. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
Resources: Australian Faunal Directory
- ^ Animal abstract: Mugil cephalus Archived 2016-12-31 at the Wayback Machine ARIZONA GAME AND FISH DEPARTMENT
- ^ "FAO Fisheries & Aquaculture - Species Fact Sheets - Mugil cephalus (Linnaeus, 1758)". fao.org. Archived from the original on 2015-11-05. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
- ^ .
- ^ "Instituto Veneto di scienze, lettere ed arti environmental database on the pool of Venice". Archived from the original on 2010-10-13. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
- ISBN 978-1-60344-028-8.