Flathead mullet

Flathead Mullet (Striped Mullet)
Flathead Mullet (Striped Mullet), Mugil cephalus
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Mugiliformes
Family:	Mugilidae
Genus:	Mugil
Species:	M. cephalus
Binomial name
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 typically 30 to 75 centimeters (12 to 30 inches). This species occurs worldwide, attested by other common names for this fish:

• 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
• Flathead mullet - Europe, FAO, UN, Fishbase
• Grey mullet - Australia, Taiwan, Cuba, Fiji, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Spain, Tonga, UK, US, Mediteranean, Egypt
• 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 Striped Mullet is a mainly diurnal coastal species that often enters estuaries and rivers. The Striped Mullet usually schools over sand or mud bottoms, feeding on zooplankton. The Adult fish normally feed on algae in fresh water. The maximum size the Striped Mullet may reach is approximately 120 cm, with a max weight of about 8,000 g. The species is euryhaline meaning that the fish can acclimate to different levels of salinity; this combined with the acclimation of juveniles to high water temperatures appears to be a selective advantage^[1].

Description

The Striped Mullet have oblong, and more or less compressed bodies, which are covered with large, cycloid scales. The head and pre-dorsal area are very much flattened, and the belly and lower part of the head are rounded, while the posterior part of body are laterally compressed. The pectoral fins of the Striped Mullet are positioned high on sides. The mouth of the fish is dorsally located, and the inguinal scale and nictitating membranes are highly developed^[2].

The coloration of the Striped Mullet is blue-black dorsally, while the sides and belly of the fish are silvery-white. There is a common dark spot on the body of the fish at the base of pectoral fin, almost ocellate in some individuals. The dorsal fins of the Striped Mullet are sometimes dark, while the caudal, anal, and pelvic fins are normally whitish, and sometimes yellowed in large adults^[3]. The scales of the fish along the flanks have dark centers which give the appearance of a series (6-7) of dark horizontal stripes. The fish grow to lengths up to 60.0 cm with weights as high as 4.0 kg.

Range

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 Sea of Cortez, 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. The Striped Mullet are often abundant in the mainstream and lateral canals in the Gila River region.^[4]

Habitat

The Striped Mullet normally occupies fresh, brackish and marine habitats in depths ranging between 0-120 m and with temperatures between 8-24°C. In the Colorado River mullet are pelagic in larger pools, sometimes moving into currents below dams, and generally occurring in small groups^[5].

Population Trends:

The Striped Mullet populations are currently declining in Arizona, due to periods when the Colorado River does not reach the Sea of Cortez.

Cuisine

Drying mullet roe in Taiwan.

The flathead mullet is an important food fish for many around the world, and can be both fished and farmed. The roe of this mullet is salted, dried, and compressed to make a specialty food across the world, such as Korean myeongran jeot, Japanese karasumi, Italian botargo, and Egyptian batarekh . In Egypt, the fish itself is salted, dried, and pickled to make feseekh^[6].

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 castnet, though some use a hook. Mullet is a delicacy in this area and is most often consumed in the home. Mullet are usually filleted, and the remaining frames used for fish stock, used in chowders and stews^[7].

Mullet does not keep well after it is caught. If kept on ice it may remain edible for approximately 72 hours, after which it becomes nearly inedible. The sooner it can be eaten after being caught, the better.

References

• Mugil cephalus (TSN 170335). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 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 978-0-00-216987-5
• Economic marine fishes of Hong Kong
• Instituto Veneto di scienze, lettere ed arti environmental database on the pool of Venice