Flathead mullet
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| Mugil cephalus Linnaeus, 1758 |
The flathead mullet, Mugil cephalus, is a mullet of the genus Mugil, found in coastal tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. Its length is between 30 and 75 centimetres. It is very common worldwide, demonstrated by the following other common names for the same species:
- Black mullet - Cuba, US
- Bully mullet - Australia, Vietnam
- Callifaver mullet - Cuba, Netherlands Antilles, US
- Common grey mullet - UK
- Common mullet - Cuba, Netherlands Antilles, US
- Flathead grey mullet - India, Philippines, UK
- Grey mullet - Australia, Taiwan, Cuba, Fiji, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Spain, Tonga, UK, US
- Hardgut mullet - Australia
- Mangrove mullet - Australia
- Sea mullet - Australia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, UK
- Striped mullet - Australia, Cuba, Mexico, Russian Fed, UK, US, Hawaii
The flathead mullet is a cigar-shaped solid-bodied fish with a flattened head with thin lips, and two widely separate triangular dorsal fins. The eyes are protected by a thick fatty eyelid and are near the front of the snout immediately behind the small mouth. The mouth has a single row of small teeth in each jaw and the fish normally feeds by gulping the surface layer of mud from the bottom in shallow water. organic detritus, micro-organisms, algae, and the small worms and crustaceans that abound in this rich mud are digested as they pass through the gut. A shoal of mullet creates a patch of turbid water as it moves along.
The back is olive-green with darker grey longitudinal lines, and the belly is silver.
Flathead mullet undertake annual migrations, entering harbours, estuaries, and rivers in the spring to feed on the rich bottom sediments, and sometimes travel many miles up into river systems. In autumn mature adults gather in schools in the estuaries and move seaward to spawn in offshore surface waters.
[edit] References
- Mugil cephalus (TSN 170335). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 18 April 2006.
- "Mugil cephalus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. January 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
- Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8ja:ボラ
