Goatfish | |
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Yellowfin goatfish | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Perciformes |
Superfamily: | Percoidea |
Family: | Mullidae Rafinesque, 1815 [1] |
Genera | |
see text |
The goatfishes are fish of the family Mullidae, the only family in the order Mulliformes. [2] The family is also sometimes referred to as the red mullets, which also refers more narrowly to the genus Mullus . [3]
The family name and the English common name mullet derived from Latin mullus, the red mullet; other than the red mullet and the striped red mullet or surmullet, the English word "mullet" generally refers to a different family of fish, the Mugilidae or gray mullets. [3]
Goatfish are characterized by two chin barbels (or goatee), which contain chemosensory organs and are used to probe the sand or holes in the reef for food. Their bodies are deep and elongated, with forked tails and widely separated dorsal fins. [4] The first dorsal fin has six to eight spines; the second dorsal has one spine and 8–9 soft rays, shorter than anal fin. There are one or two spines in the anal fin with five to eight soft rays. They have 24 vertebrae. [5]
Many goatfish are brightly colored. The largest species, the dash-and-dot goatfish (Parupeneus barberinus), grows to 60 cm (24 in) in length; most species are less than half this size. Within the family are six genera and about 86 species.
These genera are classified as belonging to the Mullidae: [6]
Goatfish are distributed worldwide in tropical, subtropical, and temperate waters, in a range of habitats. Most species are associated with the bottom of the littoral, but some species of Upeneus can be deep; for example, the goatfish Upeneus davidaromi can be found at depths of 500 metres (1,600 ft). Tropical goatfish live in association with coral reefs. Some species, such as the freckled goatfish (Upeneus tragula), enter estuaries and rivers, although not to any great extent.
Goatfish are benthic feeders, using a pair of long chemosensory barbels (whiskers) protruding from their chins to feel through the sediments in search of prey. [4] They feed on worms, crustaceans, molluscs and other small invertebrates. Other fish shadow the active goatfish, waiting patiently for any overlooked prey. For example, in Indonesia large schools of the goldsaddle goatfish (Parupeneus cyclostomus) and moray eels hunt together. This behavior is known as shadow feeding or cooperative hunting. By day, many goatfish will form large schools of inactive (nonfeeding) fish; these aggregates may contain both conspecifics and heterospecifics. For example, the yellowfin goatfish ( Mulloidichthys vanicolensis ) is often seen congregating with bluestripe snappers (Lutjanus kasmira). All goatfish have the ability to change their coloration depending on their current activity. One notable example, the diurnal goldsaddle goatfish (Parupeneus cyclostomus) can change from a lemon-yellow to a pale cream whilst feeding.
Goatfish have the ability to rapidly change color, and many species adopt a pale coloration when resting on the sand to blend with the background and become less visible to predators. These changes in color are reversible phenotypic changes and happen within seconds, many times during the lifespan of an individual.
Two species, the mimic goatfish ( Mulloidichthys mimicus ) and Ayliffe's goatfish ( Mulloidichthys ayliffe ) have evolved to mimic the blue-striped snapper ( Lutjanus kasmira ), with which they often form schools. These are slow, genetic changes that have occurred during their evolution over many generations.
Goatfish are pelagic spawners; they release many buoyant eggs into the water, which become part of the plankton. The eggs float freely with the currents until hatching. The larvae drift in oceanic waters or in the outer shelf for a period of 4–8 weeks until they metamorphose and develop barbels. Soon thereafter, most species take on a bottom-feeding lifestyle, although other species remain in the open water as juveniles or feed on plankton. [7] Juvenile goatfish often prefer soft bottoms, in seagrass beds to mangroves. They change habitat preference as they develop, coinciding with changes in feeding habits, social behavior, and the formation of association with other species. Most species reach reproductive maturity after 1–2 years.
Goatfish species are an important fishery in many areas of the world and some species are economically important. In ancient Rome until the end of the second century BCE, two species of goatfish ( Mullus barbatus and Mullus surmuletus ) were highly sought-after and expensive, not as a delicacy, but for aesthetic pleasure, since the fish assume a variety of colors and shades also during death. Therefore, it was paramount to serve the fish live and let them die before the eyes of the guests. [8]
The mullets or grey mullets are a family (Mugilidae) of ray-finned fish found worldwide in coastal temperate and tropical waters, and some species in fresh water. Mullets have served as an important source of food in Mediterranean Europe since Roman times. The family includes about 78 species in 26 genera.
Upeneichthys lineatus, also known as the blue-striped mullet, blue-lined goatfish. blue-striped goatfish, blue-spotted goatfish and blue striped red mullet, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a goatfish from the family Mullidae. It is native to the Pacific coast of Australia. It occurs in sheltered areas over rocky and sandy substrates and can be found 5 to 100 metres, though rarer below 40 metres (130 ft). This species can reach a length of 40 centimetres (16 in) FL. This species is commercially important.
The dash-and-dot goatfish is a species of goatfish native to the Indian and Pacific oceans.
The red mullets or surmullets are two species of goatfish, Mullus barbatus and Mullus surmuletus, found in the Mediterranean Sea, east North Atlantic Ocean, and the Black Sea. Both "red mullet" and "surmullet" can also refer to the Mullidae in general.
The striped red mullet or surmullet is a species of goatfish found in the Mediterranean Sea, eastern North Atlantic Ocean, and the Black Sea. They can be found in water as shallow as 5 metres (16 ft) or as deep as 409 metres (1,342 ft) depending upon the portion of their range that they are in. This species can reach a length of 40 centimetres (16 in) SL though most are only around 25 centimetres (9.8 in). The greatest recorded weight for this species is 1 kilogram (2.2 lb). This is a commercially important species and is also sought after as a game fish.
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. These fish are benthic and can be found resting and feeding over soft substrates.
Parupeneus cyclostomus, commonly known as the Yellow- saddle goatfish, blue goatfish or bright goatfish, is one of 66 currently known species of goatfish. The characteristic yellow patch, or saddle, located on the upper part of the fish’s caudal peduncle, gives the yellow-saddle goatfish their common name. Different life stages of this fish may be found at varying depths, however, most yellow-saddle goatfish remain at around 20 meters of depth or in coastal regions with reefs. They can be found in isolation or small schools, and often rely on each other for hunting purposes. Native to the Indo-Pacific, this reef-dweller occurs primarily in tropical and temperate habitats. It is a commercially important species and has recently been considered an environmental indicator to gauge the impact of habitat modification, coastal degradation, pollution, and commercial fisheries. Yellow- Saddle goatfish, along with other species of goatfish, is of high economic importance in many parts of the world as both a source of food and for the aquarium trade. Goatfish are often sought out as game fish, though they have been reported to carry the ciguatera toxin.
The common bluestripe snapper, bluestripe snapper, bluebanded snapper, bluestripe sea perch, fourline snapper, blue-line snapper or moonlighter, is a species of snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is native to the Indian Ocean from the coast of Africa and the Red Sea to the central Pacific Ocean. It is commercially important and sought as a game fish. It can also be found in the aquarium trade.
Parupeneus is a genus of goatfishes native to the Indian and Pacific oceans.
Mulloidichthys is a genus of fish in the family Mullidae native to coral and rocky reefs of the tropical Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean.
Upeneichthys vlamingii, the blue-spotted goatfish, southern goatfish, black-striped goatfish, blue-striped red mullet, southern red mullet or western red mullet, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a goatfish from the family Mullidae native to the coast of southern Australia.
Upeneus is a genus of goatfishes native to the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans.
Upeneus mascareinsis, the Mascarene goatfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Mullidae, the goatfishes, which is found in the Indian Ocean.
Parupeneus pleurostigma, commonly known as the sidespot goatfish and round-spot goatfish, is a marine fish belonging to the family Mullidae.
Upeneus moluccensis, the goldband goatfish, golden-banded goatfish or Moluccan goatfish, is a species of Indo-Pacific goatfish from the red mullet and goatfish family, the Mullidae. It is widespread in the warmer waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans as far east as New Caledonia and has colonised the eastern Mediterranean Sea from the Red Sea via the Suez Canal, making it a Lessepsian migrant.
Parupeneus forsskali, common name Red Sea goatfish, is a species of goatfish belonging to the family Mullidae.
Upeneus taeniopterus is a species of fish in the family Mullidae, the goatfishes. It is known commonly as the finstripe goatfish. It is a marine fish native to the Indo-Pacific region.
Upeneus pori is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a goatfish from the family Mullidae which is found in western Indian Ocean and the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Mulloidichthys dentatus, the Mexican goatfish, is a species of goatfish native to the Pacific Ocean.