Mullus

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Mullus
Mullus barbatus - Gervais.jpg
Mullus barbatus
Red mullet
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Mullidae
Genus: Mullus
Linnaeus, 1758 [1]
Type species
Mullus barbatus
Linnaeus, 1758 [2]

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.

Contents

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".

Commercial Significance

The most commercially important of these species is the Red Mullet (Mullus 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

There are currently four recognized species in this genus: [4]

Mullus surmuletus Mullus surmuletus.jpg
Mullus surmuletus

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The goatfishes are perciform fish of the family Mullidae. The family is also sometimes referred to as the red mullets, which also refers more narrowly to the genus Mullus.

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<i>Mullus barbatus</i> Species of fish

Mullus barbatus is a species of goatfish found in the Mediterranean Sea, Sea of Marmara, the Black Sea and the eastern North Atlantic Ocean, where its range extends from Scandinavia to Senegal. They are fished, mostly by trawling, with the flesh being well regarded. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed their conservation status as being of "least concern".

Striped red mullet

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10th edition of <i>Systema Naturae</i> Book by Carl Linnaeus

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<i>Parupeneus forsskali</i>

Parupeneus forsskali, common name Red Sea goatfish, is a species of goatfish belonging to the family Mullidae.

<i>Anthias anthias</i> Species of fish

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References

  1. 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.
  2. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Mullus". Catalog of Fishes . California Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  3. 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.
  4. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2019). Species of Mullus in FishBase . December 2019 version.

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