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.[3] These fish are benthic and can be found resting and feeding over soft substrates.
| Mullus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Mullus barbatus Red mullet | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Mullidae |
| Genus: | Mullus Linnaeus, 1758[1] |
| Type species | |
| Mullus barbatus Linnaeus, 1758[2]
| |
Distribution
editMembers of the genus Mullus can be found in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Mediterranean Sea. They are often found over soft substrates, such as sand, in which they search for prey using sensitive whiskers.
Commercial Significance
editThe most commercially important of these species is the Red Mullet (M. barbatus) which is common in Mediterranean cuisine and often fished for using seine nets, a practice thought to be damaging as it can remove large numbers of spawning fish.
Species
editThere are currently four recognized species in this genus:[4]
- Mullus argentinae Hubbs & Marini, 1933 (Argentine goatfish)
- Mullus auratus Jordan & Gilbert, 1882 (Red goatfish)
- Mullus barbatus Linnaeus, 1758 (Red mullet)
- Mullus surmuletus Linnaeus, 1758 (Surmullet)
References
edit- ^ Linnaeus, C., 1758: Systema Naturae, Ed. X. (Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata.) Holmiae. Systema Naturae, Ed. X. v. 1: i-ii + 1-824.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Mullus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ Johnson, G.D. & Gill, A.C. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 186. ISBN 0-12-547665-5.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Mullus". FishBase. December 2019 version.
External links
edit
Media related to Mullus at Wikimedia Commons