Mullus barbatus

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Red mullet
Salmonete de fango (Mullus barbatus), Parque natural de la Arrabida, Portugal, 2020-07-21, DD 59.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Mullidae
Genus: Mullus
Species:
M. barbatus
Binomial name
Mullus barbatus
Synonyms
  • Mullus ruberLacepède, 1801
Illustration of M. barbatus Mullus barbatus - Gervais.jpg
Illustration of M. barbatus

Mullus barbatus (red mullet) is a species of goatfish found in the Mediterranean Sea, Sea of Marmara, the Black Sea and the eastern North Atlantic Ocean, where its range extends from Scandinavia to Senegal. They are fished, mostly by trawling, with the flesh being well regarded. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed their conservation status as being of "least concern".

Contents

Taxonomy

This fish was first described in 1758 as Mullus barbatus by the Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae. FishBase currently recognizes two subspecies, though the validity of M. b. ponticus is uncertain: [3] [4]

Description

The red mullet can grow to a standard length of 30 cm (12 in), but a more common length is about half that. The body is somewhat laterally compressed. The snout is short and steep and there are no spines on the operculum. The upper jaw is toothless, but there are teeth on the roof of the mouth and on the lower jaw. A pair of moderately long barbels on the chin do not exceed the pectoral fins in length. The first dorsal fin has eight spines (the first one tiny) and the second dorsal fin has one spine and eight soft rays. This fish is rose-pink, without distinctive markings on its fins. [5]

Distribution and habitat

The red mullet is found in the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea and the northeastern and central eastern Atlantic Ocean, where its range extends from Scandinavia southwards to Senegal, including Canary Islands, Azores and Madeira. It is a demersal fish and occurs at depths ranging from 10 to 328 m (30 to 1,080 ft) [1] over muddy, sandy or gravel bottoms. [5]

Ecology

The red mullet is carnivorous, the diet consisting mainly of polychaete worms, bivalve molluscs and crustaceans. The barbels are sensory organs and are used to help locate prey. [6] Both young and adult mullet are preyed on by various fish including the angler fish (Lophius piscatorius), the thornback ray (Raja clavata), the common stingray (Dasyatis pastinaca), the school shark (Galeorhinus galeus), the John Dory (Zeus faber) and the European hake (Merluccius merluccius). [6]

Breeding takes place in the spring and summer, with spawning occurring in April and May in the Adriatic Sea, at depths between 60 and 70 m (200 and 230 ft). The larvae soon move to shallower depths and are pelagic, as are the juveniles at first. At a length of about 5 cm (2 in) the juveniles move to the coast and become demersal, often congregating in estuaries, and sometimes swimming a short distance upstream. Later they disperse to muddy, sandy or gravelly substrates, becoming sexually mature at a length of 10 to 14 cm (4 to 6 in) during their first year of life. [6]

Status

The flesh of the red mullet is much esteemed and it is the target of fisheries, especially in the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and northeastern and central eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is mainly caught by trawling, but also with trammel nets, gill nets and hook and line, and in artisanal fisheries with traps and spears. In the Mediterranean there are signs of overfishing, and many of the fish caught are shorter than 15 cm (6 in) in total length, and being under two years old, are not yet sexually mature. For conservation of the species in the Mediterranean, the breeding grounds and nursery areas need to be protected. [1]

It is also heavily fished off the coast of northwestern Africa. Here the fish are caught by local artisan fishermen as well as by foreign industrial fleets; they may be the targeted species or may be bycatch in hake, cephalopod or shrimp fisheries, but the catch statistics are not subdivided by species. There is also thought to be overfishing in the Black Sea. The fish is currently listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being of "least concern" because it has a wide range, occurs at depths down to 328 m (1,080 ft) and is expanding its range northwards as a result of rising sea temperatures. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goatfish</span> Family of fishes

The goatfishes are perciform fish of the family Mullidae. The family is also sometimes referred to as the red mullets, which also refers more narrowly to the genus Mullus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triglidae</span> Family of fishes

Triglidae, commonly known as gurnards or sea robins, are a family of bottom-feeding scorpaeniform ray-finned fish. The gurnards are distributed in temperate and tropical seas worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European sprat</span> Species of fish

The European sprat, also known as bristling, brisling, garvie, garvock, Russian sardine, russlet, skipper or whitebait, is a species of small marine fish in the herring family Clupeidae. Found in European waters, it has silver grey scales and white-grey flesh. Specific seas in which the species occurs include the Irish Sea, Black Sea, Baltic Sea and Sea of the Hebrides. The fish is the subject of fisheries, particularly in Scandinavia, and is made into fish meal, as well as being used for human consumption. When used for food it can be canned, salted, breaded, fried, boiled, grilled, baked, deep fried, marinated, broiled, and smoked.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common ling</span> Species of fish

The common ling, also known as the white ling or simply the ling, is a large member of the family Lotidae, a group of cod-like fishes. It resembles the related rocklings, but it is much larger and has a single barbel. This species is unrelated to the pink ling, Genypterus blacodes, from the Southern Hemisphere. The common ling is found in the northern Atlantic, mainly off Europe, and into the Mediterranean Basin. It is an important quarry species for fisheries, especially in the northeastern Atlantic, although some doubts exist as to the sustainability of the fisheries. As an edible species, it is eaten fresh, frozen, or dried, but also preserved in lye, while the roe is a delicacy in Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Pacific hake</span> Species of fish

The North Pacific hake, Pacific hake, Pacific whiting, or jack salmon is a ray-finned fish in the genus Merluccius, found in the northeast Pacific Ocean from northern Vancouver Island to the northern part of the Gulf of California. It is a silver-gray fish with black speckling, growing to a length of 90 cm (3 ft). It is a migratory offshore fish and undergoes a daily vertical migration from the surface to the seabed at depths down to about 1,000 m (3,300 ft). It is the object of an important commercial fishery off the West Coast of the United States, and annual quotas are used to prevent overfishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Witch (righteye flounder)</span> Species of fish

The witch, known in English by a variety of other common names including the witch flounder, pole flounder, craig fluke, Torbay sole, and grey sole, is a species of flatfish from the family Pleuronectidae. It occurs on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean on muddy sea beds in quite deep water. In northern Europe it has some importance in fisheries as a food fish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Striped red mullet</span> Species of fish

The striped red mullet or surmullet is a species of goatfish found in the Mediterranean Sea, eastern North Atlantic Ocean, and the Black Sea. They can be found in water as shallow as 5 metres (16 ft) or as deep as 409 metres (1,342 ft) depending upon the portion of their range that they are in. This species can reach a length of 40 centimetres (16 in) SL though most are only around 25 centimetres (9.8 in). The greatest recorded weight for this species is 1 kilogram (2.2 lb). This is a commercially important species and is also sought after as a game fish.

<i>Mullus</i> Genus of fishes

Mullus is a subtropical marine genus of perciform fish of the family Mullidae (goatfish) and includes the red mullets, occurring mainly in the southwest Atlantic near the South American coast and in the Eastern Atlantic including the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. These fish are benthic and can be found resting and feeding over soft substrates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red porgy</span> Species of fish

The red porgy, or common seabream, is a species of marine ray-finned fish in the family Sparidae. It is found in shallow waters on either side of the Atlantic Ocean, being present on the western coast of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea as well as the eastern coasts of North and South America and the Caribbean Sea. It feeds on or near the seabed and most individuals start life as females and later change sex to males.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piper gurnard</span> Species of fish

The piper gurnard, also known as the piper or the lyre gurnard, is a species of marine, demersal ray-finned fish from the family Triglidae, the gurnards and sea robins. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Trigla.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European pilchard</span> Species of fish

The European pilchard is a species of ray-finned fish in the monotypic genus Sardina. The young of the species are among the many fish that are sometimes called sardines. This common species is found in the northeast Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the Black Sea at depths of 10–100 m (33–328 ft). It reaches up to 27.5 cm (10.8 in) in length and mostly feeds on planktonic crustaceans. This schooling species is a batch spawner where each female lays 50,000–60,000 eggs.

<i>Merluccius merluccius</i> Species of fish

Merluccius merluccius, the European hake, is a merluccid hake of the genus Merluccius. Other vernacular names include Cornish salmon and herring hake. It is a predatory species which was often netted alongside one of its favoured prey, the Atlantic herring, thus the latter common name. It is found in the eastern Atlantic from the Norway and Iceland south to Mauritania and into the Mediterranean Sea. It is an important species in European fisheries and is heavily exploited with some populations thought to be being fished unsustainably.

<i>Merluccius capensis</i> Species of fish

Merluccius capensis is a ray-finned fish in the genus Merluccius, found in the south-eastern Atlantic Ocean, along the coast of South Africa. It is a long, lean fish with a large head, similar in appearance to the European hake and the deep-water Cape hake. By day, it lives close to the bottom on the continental shelf and upper slope at depths not usually exceeding 400 m (1,300 ft); it makes a large, daily vertical migration rising at night to feed in the nectonic zone, and it also migrates southwards in spring and northwards in autumn. It is an important commercial fish species in southern Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mediterranean horse mackerel</span> Species of fish

The Mediterranean horse mackerel, also known as the Black Sea horse mackerel, horse mackerel, Mediterranean scad, common scad, or simply scad, is a species of mackerel in the family Carangidae found in the eastern Atlantic from Bay of Biscay to Mauritania, including the Mediterranean Sea. It is a benthopelagic, subtropical, marine fish that can reach up to 60 cm (24 in) in length. In the countries near the Mediterranean and Black Seas, it makes up a significant portion of fish catch, 54% of fish caught in the latter. Despite overfishing in the 1980s, catch numbers have leveled out and it is listed as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

<i>Menticirrhus americanus</i> Species of fish

Menticirrhus americanus, the southern kingfish, southern kingcroaker, king whiting, Carolina whiting, sea mullet, roundhead, or whiting, is a species of marine fish in the family Sciaenidae. It lives in shallow coastal waters on the western fringes of the Atlantic Ocean.

The Panama hake, also known as the dwarf hake, is a merluccid hake found off the west coast of the Americas from Del Mar, California, to Ensenada de Tumaco, Colombia.

<i>Spicara maena</i> Species of fish

Spicara maena, the blotched picarel, is a species of ray-finned fish native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. The male grows to a maximum length of about 25 cm (10 in), and the female reaches 21 cm (8 in). This fish is fished commercially in some areas.

Merluccius polli, the Benguela hake, is a species of fish from the family Merlucciidae, the true hakes. It is found in the tropical waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Africa.

Merluccius senegalensis, the Senegalese hake, is a species of fish from the family Merlucciidae, the true hakes. It is found in the sub tropical waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean off the north western coast of Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triglinae</span>

Triglinae is a subfamily of demersal, marine ray-finned fishes, part of the family Triglidae, the gurnards and searobins. These gurnards are found in all the tropical and temperate oceans of the world except for the Western Atlantic Ocean.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Carpenter, K.E.; Smith-Vaniz, W.F.; de Bruyne, G.; de Morais, L. (2015). "Mullus barbatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2015: e.T198673A42691799. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T198673A42691799.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. Bailly, Nicolas (2013). "Mullus barbatus Linnaeus, 1758". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  3. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2013). "Mullus barbatus" in FishBase . December 2013 version.
  4. "Mullus barbatus ponticus". FishBase. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Mullus barbatus Linnaeus, 1758". Species Fact Sheets. FAO Fisheries & Aquaculture. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 "Mullus barbatus (Linnaeus, 1758)". FAO – AdriaMed project. Retrieved 16 February 2018.