Flathead grey mullet

{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | name = Striped mullet | image = Mújol (Mugil cephalus), Parque natural de la Arrábida, Portugal, 2021-09-09, DD 25.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite journal | author1 = Camara, K. | author2 = Carpenter, K.E. | author3 = Djiman, R.| author4 = Nunoo, F. | author5 = Sagna, A. | author6 = Sidibé, A. | author7 = Sylla, M. | author8 = de Morais, L. | author9 = Jelks, H. | author10 = Tolan, J. | author11 = Vega-Cendejas, M. | author12 = Espinosa-Perez, H. | author13 = Chao, L. | author14 = Moretzsohn, F. | author15 = Sparks, J.S. | display-authors = 3 | year = 2017 | title = ''Mugil cephalus'' | journal = [[The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]] | volume = 2017 | page = e.T135567A20682868 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T135567A20682868.en | doi-access = free }}</ref> | taxon = Mugil cephalus | authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]] | synonyms = *''Mugil albula'' Linnaeus, 1766 *''Mugil our'' [[Peter Forsskål|Forsskål]], 1775 *''Mugil tang'' [[Marcus Elieser Bloch|Bloch]], 1794 *''Mugil provensalis'' [[Antoine Risso|Risso]], 1810 *''Mugil lineatus'' [[Achille Valenciennes|Valenciennes]], 1836 *''Mugil cephalotus'' Valenciennes, 1836 *''Mugil japonicus'' [[Coenraad Jacob Temminck|Temminck]] & [[Hermann Schlegel|Schlegel]], 1845 *''Mugil rammelsbergii'' [[Johann Jakob von Tschudi|Tschudi]], 1846 *''Mugil vulpinus'' [[Giovanni Domenico Nardo|Nardo]], 1847 *''Mugil dobula'' [[Albert Günther|Günther]], 1861 *''Mugil ashanteensis'' [[Pieter Bleeker|Bleeker]], 1863 *''Myxus superficialis'' [[Carl Benjamin Klunzinger|Klunzinger]], 1870 *''Mugil gelatinosus'' Klunzinger, 1872 *''Myxus caecutiens'' Günther, 1876 *''Mugil mexicanus'' [[Franz Steindachner|Steindachner]], 1876 *''Mugil grandis'' [[Francis de Laporte de Castelnau|Castelnau]], 1879 *''Mugil muelleri'' Klunzinger, 1879 }}

The '''striped mullet'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Striped Mullet (Mugil cephalus) - Species Profile |url=https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=788 |access-date=2026-03-06 |website=USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database |language=en}}</ref><ref name=FB/> ('''''Mugil cephalus''''') is an important food fish species in the [[Mullet (fish)|mullet]] [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] [[Mugilidae]]. It is found in coastal [[temperate climate|temperate]], [[tropical]] and [[subtropical]] waters worldwide.<ref name=FB>{{FishBase|Mugil|cephalus|year=2014}}</ref> Its length is typically {{convert|30|to|75|cm}}. It is known with numerous English names, including the '''flathead mullet, flathead grey mullet, striped mullet,''' '''black mullet, bully mullet, common mullet, grey mullet, sea mullet''' and '''mullet''', among others.<ref name=IUCN/><ref>[http://www.fishbase.org/comnames/CommonNamesList.php?ID=785&GenusName=Mugil&SpeciesName=cephalus&StockCode=801 Common names of ''Mugil cephalus''] [[FishBase]] (2014)</ref>

The striped mullet is a mainly diurnal coastal species that often enters [[Estuary|estuaries]] and rivers. It usually schools over sand or mud bottoms, feeding on [[zooplankton]], dead plant matter, [[microalgae]] and [[detritus]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Mugil_cephalus/ | title=Mugil cephalus (Black mullet) | website=[[Animal Diversity Web]] }}</ref> 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.<ref name="autogenerated257">Minckley, W.L. 1973. Fishes of Arizona. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix. pp. 257–258.</ref>

==Etymology== The genus name ''Mugil'' is from {{langx|la|mūgil|}} : ''mullet''. The species name ''cephalus'' is from {{langx|grc|κέφαλος}} {{grc-tr|κέφαλος}} : ''mullet''. Thus, the binomial term ''Mugil cephalus'' literally means ''Mullet mullet''.

==Description== [[File:Mugil cephalus.jpg|thumbnail|left]] The back of the fish is olive-green, sides are silvery and shade to white towards the belly.<ref name =FB/> The fish may have six to seven distinctive lateral horizontal stripes. Lips are thin.<ref name =FB/> The mullet has no [[lateral line]]. A common length is about {{convert|50|cm}}, and its maximum length is {{convert|100|cm}}.<ref name =FB/> It can reach a maximum weight of {{convert|8|kg|spell=in}}.<ref name="autogenerated257"/>

== Distribution == The striped mullet is cosmopolitan in coastal waters of the tropical, subtropical and temperate zones of all seas,<ref name =FB/> as far north as the [[Bay of Biscay]] and [[Nova Scotia]] in the Atlantic Ocean.<ref name = IUCN/> It occupies fresh, brackish and [[seawater|marine]] habitats in depths ranging between {{convert|0|-|120|m}} and with temperatures between {{convert|8|-|24|C|F}}.<ref name="autogenerated257"/>

In Australia, the fish is widespread, from [[Far North Queensland]], around southern Australia to the [[Kimberley (Western Australia)|Kimberley]] region of [[Western Australia]]. They also occur in the [[Bass Strait]] area of Tasmania. They live in [[tropical climate|tropical]] and [[temperate climate|temperate]] coastal marine and estuarine waters, but are also often found in the lower reaches of rivers. They are able to live in a wide range of [[salinity]] and so may also be found in [[lagoon]]s, lakes and far into [[estuaries]], but migrate back to the sea to spawn.<ref>{{cite web | title=Mugil cephalus | date=2019|last1=Gomon|first1=M.F.|last2=Bray|first2= D.J. |website=Fishes of Australia|quote=Resources: Australian Faunal Directory| url=https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3880#moreinfo | access-date=22 March 2020}}</ref>

In freshwaters of the western United States, the striped mullet historically ranged far up the [[Colorado River]] to the vicinity of Blythe and up the [[Gila River]] to perhaps [[Tacna, Arizona|Tacna]]. Because of the dams and restricted flows to the [[Gulf of California]], 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. They are often abundant in the mainstream and lateral canals in the Gila River region.<ref>[http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/edits/documents/Mugiceph.fo_000.pdf Animal abstract: ''Mugil cephalus''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231145939/http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/edits/documents/Mugiceph.fo_000.pdf |date=2016-12-31 }} ARIZONA GAME AND FISH DEPARTMENT</ref>

In the [[Colorado River]] mullet are [[Pelagic fish|pelagic]] in larger pools, sometimes moving into currents below dams, and generally occurring in small groups.<ref name="autogenerated257"/> Striped mullet populations are currently declining in Arizona, due to periods when the Colorado River does not reach the Gulf of California.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

==Fisheries and aquaculture== [[File:Flathead grey mullet total production thousand tonnes 1950-2024 (reversed).svg|thumb|Capture (blue) and aquaculture (green) production of Flathead grey mullet (''Mugil cephalus'') in thousand tonnes from 1950 to 2024, as reported by the [[Food and Agriculture Organization|FAO]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fisheries and Aquaculture - Global Production |url=https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/collection/global_production?lang=en |access-date=2026-04-01 |website=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)}}</ref>]] The striped mullet is an important food fish around the world, and it is both fished and farmed. The reported worldwide production in 2024 reached about 125,000 tonnes, of which 5% came from [[fish farming|aquaculture]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fisheries and Aquaculture - Global Production |url=https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/collection/global_production?lang=en |access-date=2026-04-01 |website=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)}}</ref>

== Development == The [[ontogeny]] of mugilid larvae has been well studied, with the larval development of ''Mugil cephalus'' in particular being studied intensively due to its wide range of distribution and interest to [[aquaculture]].<ref name="Thieme2021">{{cite journal|author1=Thieme, Philipp|author2=Vallainc, Dario|author3=Moritz, Timo|title=Postcranial skeletal development of ''Mugil cephalus'' (Teleostei: Mugiliformes): morphological and life-history implications for Mugiliformes|year=2021|journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society|volume=192|issue=4|pages=1071–1089|doi=10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa123|url=https://zenodo.org/record/5301437|url-access=}}</ref> The previously understudied [[osteology|osteological]] development of ''Mugil cephalus'' was investigated in a 2021 study, with four embryonic and six larval developmental steps being described in aquaculture-reared and wild-caught specimens.<ref name="Thieme2021"/> These descriptions provided clarification of questionable characters of adult mullets and revealed informative details with potential implications for [[phylogeny|phylogenetic]] hypotheses, as well as providing an overdue basis of comparison for aquaculture-reared mullets to enable recognition of malformations.<ref name="Thieme2021"/>

==Cuisine== {{See also|Bottarga}} [[Image:Mullet roe by comicpie in Taiwan.jpg|thumb|left|Drying mullet roe in Taiwan.]] The [[roe]] of this mullet is salted, dried, and compressed to make a specialty food across the world, such as Greek [[avgotaraho]], Taiwanese [[:zh:烏魚子|Wuyutsu]], Korean [[eoran]], Japanese [[karasumi]], Italian [[bottarga]], French [[poutargue]], Turkish [[Haviar]] and Egyptian [[batarekh]]. In Egypt, the fish itself is salted, dried, and pickled to make [[fesikh]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

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 most use a land-based [[seine net]]. Mullet is a delicacy in this area and is most often consumed in the home. Mullet are usually [[Fillet (cut)|fillet]]ed, and the remaining [[Fillet (cut)|frames]] used for fish stock in chowders and stews.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.istitutoveneto.it/venezia/divulgazione/pirelli/pirelli_2005_en/Banca_Dati_Ambientale/192.168.10.66/pirelli_new/divulgazione/valli/index9c8a.html |title=Instituto Veneto di scienze, lettere ed arti environmental database on the pool of Venice |access-date=2007-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101013041312/http://www.istitutoveneto.it/venezia/divulgazione/pirelli/pirelli_2005_en/Banca_Dati_Ambientale/192.168.10.66/pirelli_new/divulgazione/valli/index9c8a.html |archive-date=2010-10-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The mullet most commonly consumed in Florida however is the [[white mullet]] (''Mugil curema''), because its preference for cleaner water gives it a cleaner and less muddy taste.<ref>{{cite book|last=McKee|first=David |title=Fishes of the Laguna Madre|year=2008| publisher=Texas A&M University Press|location=College Station, Tx|isbn=978-1-60344-028-8| page=196}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}} {{diversity of fish}} {{mulletfish}} {{Authority control}}

==External links== * {{sealifephotos|126983}}

[[Category:Mugil|flathead grey mullet]] [[Category:Cosmopolitan fish]] [[Category:Fish described in 1758|flathead grey mullet]] [[Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus|flathead grey mullet]] [[Category:Least concern biota of the United States]]