Mugil cephalus

The flathead grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) is an important food fish species in the mullet family Mugilidae. It is found in coastal temperate, tropical and subtropical waters worldwide.

It is known with numerous English names, including the flathead mullet, striped mullet, black mullet, bully mullet, common mullet, grey mullet, sea mullet and mullet, among others.

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.

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.

DESCRIPTION

·        The back of the fish is olive-green, sides are silvery and shade to white towards the belly.

·        The fish may have six to seven distinctive lateral horizontal stripes.

·        Lips are thin.

·        The mullet has no lateral line.

·        A common length is about 50 centimetres (20 in), and its maximum length is 100 centimetres (39 in). It can reach a maximum weight of eight kilograms.

DISTRIBUTION

·        The flathead mullet is cosmopolitan in coastal waters of the tropical, subtropical and temperate zones of all seas.

·        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).

FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE

·        The flathead grey mullet is an important food fish around the world, and it is both fished and farmed.

MORPHOLOGY

·        Dorsal spines: 5

·        Dorsal soft rays: 7-9

·        Anal spines: 3

·        Anal soft rays: 8-9

DIAGNOSIS

·        The body is stout, cylindrical in cross-section, and slightly compressed, with a broad and flattened head.

·        A well-developed adipose eyelid covers most of the pupil.

·        The upper lip is thin and without papillae, containing 1-2 outer rows of small, moderately close-set, unicuspid teeth, and up to 6 inner rows of smaller bicuspid teeth.

·        The lower lip has an outer row of small unicuspid teeth, sometimes accompanied by one or more inner rows of smaller bicuspid teeth.

·        The hind end of the upper jaw aligns with a vertical line from the anterior margin of the eye.

·        The maxillary pad is not visible below the corner of the mouth when closed.

·        The first dorsal fin originates closer to the snout tip than to the caudal-fin base.

·        The anterior parts and bases of the second dorsal and anal fins are moderately covered with scales. There is a pectoral axillary process, and there are 13-15 scale rows between the origins of the dorsal and pelvic fins.

BIOLOGY

·        Adults inhabit coastal waters and often enter estuaries and rivers, sometimes venturing far upriver, as well as lagoons and hypersaline environments.

·        They typically form schools over sandy or muddy bottoms, at depths of 0 to 10 meters, in tropical, subtropical, and temperate waters.

·        They are primarily diurnal, feeding on detritus, microalgae, and benthic organisms. Juveniles feed on zooplankton until they reach about 3.0 cm in standard length (SL).

·        Reproduction occurs at sea, with spawning times varying depending on location. Adults form schools and migrate offshore to spawn, with developing larvae returning inshore. There is no obligatory freshwater phase in their life cycle. Females spawn between 0.8 to 2.6 million eggs, which develop at sea. Sexual maturity is reached at 3 to 4 years.

·        This species is widely cultivated in freshwater and brackish ponds.