Mullus

{{Short description|Genus of ray-finned fishes}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Mullus barbatus 181115494.jpg | image_caption = Red mullet (''Mullus barbatus'') | taxon = Mullus | authority = Linnaeus, 1758<ref>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.</ref> | type_species = ''Mullus barbatus'' | type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1758<ref name = CofF>{{Cof record|genid=143|title=''Mullus''|access-date=4 April 2020}}</ref> }}

'''''Mullus''''' is a subtropical marine genus of ray-finned 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.<ref name=EoF>{{cite book |editor=Paxton, J.R. |editor2=Eschmeyer, W.N.|author1=Johnson, G.D. |author2=Gill, A.C. |name-list-style=amp |year=1998|title=Encyclopedia of Fishes|publisher= Academic Press|location=San Diego|pages= 186|isbn= 0-12-547665-5}}</ref> These fish are benthic and can be found resting and feeding over soft substrates.

== Distribution == Members 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.

== Species == There are currently four recognized species in this genus:<ref name="FishBase">{{FishBase genus | genus = Mullus| month = December | year = 2019}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |+ !Species !Common name !Image |- |''Mullus argentinae'' Hubbs & Marini, 1933 |Argentine goatfish |frameless |- |''Mullus auratus'' Jordan & Gilbert, 1882 |Red goatfish |frameless |- |''Mullus barbatus'' Linnaeus, 1758 |Red mullet |frameless |- |''Mullus surmuletus'' Linnaeus, 1758 |Surmullet |frameless |}

== Commercial Significance == The 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. ==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category-inline|Mullus|''Mullus''}}

Category:Mullus Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus