Mullet (fish)

Family (Mugilidae) of ray-finned fish

This article is about the fish of the family Mugilidae. For other fish called "mullets", see Red mullet and Mullidae. For other uses, see Mullet (disambiguation).

Mullet

Temporal range: Late Oligocene to present

PreꞒ

Mugil cephalus
Scientific classification
Domain:  | Eukaryota
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Chordata
Class:  | Actinopterygii
Order:  | Mugiliformes
Family:  | Mugilidae
Jarocki, 1822
Type species
Mugil cephalus

Linnaeus, 1758

Genera

See text.

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.[1] Mullets have served as an important source of food in Mediterranean Europe since Roman times. The family includes about 78 species in 26 genera.[2]

Mullets are distinguished by the presence of two separate dorsal fins, small triangular mouths, and the absence of a lateral line organ. They feed on detritus, and most species have unusually muscular stomachs and a complex pharynx to help in digestion.[1]

## Classification and naming

[edit]

Mugil cephalus Thick lips of a mullet Mullets in the Mediterranean Sea

Taxonomically, the family is placed in the order Mugiliformes, which is named after it.[3] Until recently, it was considered the only member of Mugiliformes, but more recent taxonomic treatments suggest that they are closely related to the Asiatic glassfishes (Ambassidae), which are now also placed in the group.[4] The presence of fin spines clearly indicates membership in the superorder Acanthopterygii, and in the 1960s, they were classed as primitive perciforms,[5] while others have grouped them in Atheriniformes.[6]

In North America, "mullet" by itself usually refers to Mugilidae. In Europe, the word "mullet" is usually qualified, the "grey mullets" being Mugilidae and the "red mullets" or "surmullets" being Mullidae, notably members of the genus Mullus.[7] Outside Europe, the Mullidae are often called "goatfish".[8] Fish with common names including the word "mullet" may be a member of one family or the other, or even unrelated such as the freshwater Catostomus commersonii.[9]

However, recent taxonomic work has reorganised the family and the following genera make up the Mugilidae:[10][2]

* Agonostomus Bennett, 1832
* Aldrichetta Whitley, 1945
* Cestraeus Valenciennes, 1836
* Chaenomugil Gill, 1863
* Chelon Artedi, 1763
* Crenimugil Schultz, 1946
* Dajaus Valenciennes, 1836
* Ellochelon Whitley, 1930
* Gracilimugil Whitley, 1941
* Joturus Poey, 1860
* Minimugil Durand, Chen, Shen, Fu & Borsa, 2012
* Mugil Linnaeus, 1758
* Myxus Günther, 1861
* Neomyxus Steindachner, 1878
* Neochelon Durand, Chen, Shen, Fu & Borsa 2012
* Oedalechilus Fowler 1903
* Osteomugil G. Luther, 1982
* Parachelon Durand, Chen, Shen, Fu & Borsa 2012
* Paramugil Ghasemzadeh, Ivantsoff & Aarn 2004
* Planiliza Whitley, 1945
* Plicomugil Schultz, 1953
* Pseudomyxus Durand, Chen, Shen, Fu & Borsa 2012
* Rhinomugil Gill, 1863
* Sicamugil Fowler, 1939
* Squalomugil Ogilby, 1908
* Trachystoma Ogilby, 1888

The oldest known fossil mullet is †Mugil princeps from the latest Oligocene-aged Aix-en-Provence Formation of France.[11][12]

## Behaviour

[edit]

A common noticeable behaviour in mullet is the tendency to leap out of the water. There are two distinguishable types of leaps: a straight, clean slice out of the water to escape predators and a slower, lower jump while turning to its side that results in a larger, more distinguishable, splash. The reasons for this lower jump are disputed, but have been hypothesised to be in order to gain oxygen rich air for gas exchange in a small organ above the pharynx.[13]

## Development

[edit]

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.[14] The previously understudied 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.[14] These descriptions provided clarification of questionable characters of adult mullets and revealed informative details with potential implications for phylogenetic hypotheses, as well as providing an overdue basis of comparison for aquaculture-reared mullets to enable recognition of malformations.[14]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Johnson, G.D. & Gill, A.C. (1998). Paxton, J.R. & Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 192\. ISBN 978-0-12-547665-2.
2. ^ a b "Family Mugilidae – Mullets". FishBase. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
3. ^ Nelson, Joseph S.; Grande, Terry C.; Wilson, Mark V. H. (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons. doi:10.1002/9781119174844. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6.
4. ^ Fricke, R.; Eschmeyer, W. N.; Van der Laan, R. (2025). "ESCHMEYER'S CATALOG OF FISHES: CLASSIFICATION". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
5. ^ Gosline, W. A. (1961) "The Perciform Caudal Skeleton" Copeia 1961(3): pp. 265–270
6. ^ O.H. Oren (1981). Aquaculture of Grey Mullets. CUP Archive. p. 2\. ISBN 9780521229265.
7. ^ "Mullet species". britishseafishing.co.uk. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
8. ^ "Goatfish". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
9. ^ "Common names of Catostomus commersonii". Fishbase. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
10. ^ Jean-Dominique Durand; Wei-Jen Chen; Kang-Ning Shen; Cuizhang Fue; Philippe Borsaf (2012). "Genus-level taxonomic changes implied by the mitochondrial phylogeny of grey mullets (Teleostei: Mugilidae) (abstract)" (PDF). Comptes Rendus Biologies. 335 (10&11): 687–697\. doi:10.1016/j.crvi.2012.09.005. PMID 23199637.
11. ^ Neves, Jessika M. M.; Almeida, JoÃo P. F. A.; Sturaro, Marcelo J.; FabrÉ, Nidia N.; Pereira, Ricardo J.; Mott, TamÍ (2020-02-17). "Deep genetic divergence and paraphyly in cryptic species of Mugil fishes (Actinopterygii: Mugilidae)". Systematics and Biodiversity. 18 (2): 116–128\. doi:10.1080/14772000.2020.1729892. ISSN 1477-2000.
12. ^ Gaudant, Jean; Nel, André; Nury, Denise; Véran, Monette; Carnevale, Giorgio (2018-08-01). "The uppermost Oligocene of Aix-en-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône, Southern France): A Cenozoic brackish subtropical Konservat-Lagerstätte, with fishes, insects and plants". Comptes Rendus Palevol. Lagerstätten 2: Exceptionally preserved fossils Lagerstätten 2 : fossiles à conservation exceptionnelle. 17 (7): 460–478\. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2017.08.002. ISSN 1631-0683.
13. ^ Hoese, Hinton D. (1985). "Jumping mullet — the internal diving bell hypothesis". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 13 (4): 309–314\. doi:10.1007/BF00002915. S2CID 35924254.
14. ^ a b c Thieme, Philipp; Vallainc, Dario; Moritz, Timo (2021). "Postcranial skeletal development of Mugil cephalus (Teleostei: Mugiliformes): morphological and life-history implications for Mugiliformes". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 192 (4): 1071–1089\. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa123.

## Further references

[edit]

* Sepkoski, Jack (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Retrieved 2011-05-19.
* Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Mugilidae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 25 September 2020.

## External links

[edit]

Wikisource has the text of the 1905 New International Encyclopedia article "Mullet (fish)".

* Video: Mullet Dursey Sound May 2010, Beara, West Cork, Ireland

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Mugiliformes species (Mullets)

* Kingdom Animalia
* Phylum Chordata
* Class Actinopterygii
* Order Mugiliformes

| Mugilidae|

| Agonostomus|

* Comoro mullet (A. catalai)
* Fairy mullet (A. telfairii)

|

Aldrichetta|

* Yellow-eye mullet (A. forsteri)

Cestraeus|

* Cestraeus goldiei
* Cestraeus oxyrhyncus
* Lobed river mullet (C. plicatilis)

Chaenomugil|

* Snouted mullet (C. proboscideus)

Chelon|

* Golden grey mullet (C. auratus)
* Cape Verde mullet (C. bispinosus)
* Diassanga mullet (C. bandialensis)
* Chelon caeruleus
* Grooved mullet (C. dumerili)
* Thicklip grey mullet (C. labrosus)
* Chelon natalensis
* Thinlip grey mullet (C. ramada)
* South African mullet (C. richardsonii)
* Leaping mullet (C. saliens)
* Striped mullet (C. tricuspidens)

Crenimugil|

* Bluetail mullet (C. buchanani)
* Fringelip mullet (C. crenilabis)
* Half fringelip mullet (C. heterocheilos)
* Longfin mullet (C. pedaraki)
* Bluespot mullet (C. seheli)

Dajaus|

* Mountain mullet (D. monticola)

Ellochelon|

* Squaretail mullet (E. vaigiensis)

Gracimugil|

* Flat-tail mullet (G. argenteus)

Joturus|

* Bobo mullet (J. pichardi)

Minimugil|

* Yellowtail mullet (M. cascasia)

Mugil|

* Banana mullet (M. bananensis)
* Mugil brevirostris
* Broussonnet's mullet (M. broussonnetii)
* Leaping African mullet (M. capurrii)
* Flathead grey mullet (M. cephalus)
* White mullet (M. curema)
* Dwarf mullet (M. curvidens)
* Redeye mullet (M. gaimardianus)
* Galapagos mullet (M. galapagensis)
* Hospe mullet (M. hospes)
* Parassi mullet (M. incilis)
* Lebranche mullet (M. liza)
* Mugil margaritae
* Mugil rubrioculus
* Liseta mullet (M. setosus)
* Thoburn's mullet (M. thoburni)
* Mugil trichodon

Myxus|

* Sand grey mullet (M. elongatus)

Neochelon|

* Sicklefin mullet (N. falcipinnis)

Neomyxus|

* Acute-jawed mullet (N. leuciscus)

Oedalechilus|

* Boxlip mullet (O. labeo)

Osteomugil|

* Longarm mullet (O. cunnesius)
* Kanda (O. engeli)
* Osteomugil formosae
* Longfinned mullet (O. perusii)
* Robust mullet (O. robustus)
* Speigler's mullet (O. speigleri)

Parachelon|

* Largescaled mullet (P. grandisquamis)

Paramugil|

* Silver mullet (P. georgii)
* Broad-mouthed mullet (P. parmatus)

Planiliza|

* Abu mullet (P. abu)
* Eastern keelback mullet (P. affinis)
* Diamond mullet (P. alata)
* Keeled mullet (P. carinata)
* So-iuy mullet (P. haematocheilus)
* Klunzinger's mullet (P. klunzingeri)
* Largescale mullet (P. macrolepis)
* Saint Lucia mullet (P. melinoptera)
* Indian mullet (P. mandapamensis)
* Planiliza ordensis
* Gold-spot mullet (P. parsia)
* Persian mullet (P. persicus)
* Tade gray mullet (P. planiceps)
* Greenback mullet (P. subviridis)
* Planiliza tade

Plicomugil|

* Hornlip mullet (P. labiosus)

Pseudomyxus|

* Freshwater mullet (P. capensis)

Rhinomugil|

* Corsula (R. corsula)

Sicamugil|

* Burmese mullet (S. hamiltonii)

Squalomugil|

* Shark mullet (S. nasutus)

Trachystoma|

* Pinkeye mullet (T. petardi)

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Extant orders of Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish)

* Kingdom: Animalia
* Phylum: Chordata
* Subphylum: Vertebrata
* Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
* Superclass: Osteichthyes

| Cladistia|

* Polypteriformes

|

Actinopteri

| Chondrostei|

* Acipenseriformes

|

Neopterygii

| Holostei|

* Amiiformes
* Lepisosteiformes

|

Teleostei

| Elopomorpha|

* Elopiformes
* Albuliformes
* Anguilliformes
* Notacanthiformes

|

Osteoglossomorpha|

* Hiodontiformes
* Osteoglossiformes

Otocephala|

* Clupeiformes
* Alepocephaliformes

Ostariophysi|

* Gonorynchiformes
* Cypriniformes
* Gymnotiformes
* Characiformes
* Siluriformes

Euteleostei

* Lepidogalaxiiformes
* Argentiniformes
* Salmoniformes
* Osmeriformes
* Stomiiformes
* Galaxiiformes
* Ateleopodiformes
* Aulopiformes
* Myctophiformes

Acanthomorpha|

* Lampriformes
* Percopsiformes
* Polymixiiformes
* Gadiformes
* Zeiformes
* Trachichthyiformes
* Beryciformes

Percomorpha|

* Ophidiiformes
* Batrachoidiformes
* Gobiiformes
* Scombriformes
* Syngnathiformes
* Carangiformes
* Anabantiformes
* Synbranchiformes

Ovalentaria|

* Cyprinodontiformes
* Atheriniformes
* Beloniformes
* Cichliformes
* Blenniiformes
* Mugiliformes

Eupercaria|

* Perciformes
* Centrarchiformes
* Labriformes
* Acropomatiformes
* Acanthuriformes
* Lophiiformes
* Tetraodontiformes

* v
* t
* e

Principal commercial fishery species groups

Wild|

| Large pelagic fish|

* Mackerel
* Salmon
* Shark
* Swordfish
* Tuna
* albacore
* bigeye
* Atlantic bluefin
* Pacific bluefin
* southern bluefin
* skipjack
* yellowfin

|

Forage fish|

* Anchovy
* Capelin
* Herring
* Ilish
* Menhaden
* Sardines
* Saury
* Shad
* Sprat
* european

Demersal fish|

* Catfish
* Cod
* Atlantic
* Pacific
* Alaska pollock
* Flatfish
* flounder
* halibut
* plaice
* sole
* turbot
* Haddock
* Mullet
* Orange roughy
* Pollock
* Rockfish
* Smelt-whitings
* Toothfish

Freshwater fish|

* Carp
* Sturgeon
* Tilapia
* Trout

Other wild fish|

* Eel
* Whitebait
* more...

Crustaceans|

* Crab
* Krill
* Lobster
* Shrimp
* Prawns
* more...

Molluscs|

* Abalone
* Mussels
* Octopus
* Oysters
* Scallops
* Squid
* more...

Echinoderms|

* Sea cucumbers
* Sea urchin
* more...

Fisheries|

* Cod fisheries
* Crab fisheries
* Krill fishery
* Lobster fishing
* Shrimp fishery

Farmed|

* Carp
* bighead
* common
* crucian
* grass
* silver
* Catfish
* Freshwater prawns
* Gilt-head bream
* Mussels
* Oysters
* Salmon
* Atlantic
* salmon trout
* coho
* chinook
* Scallops
* Seaweed
* Shrimp
* Tilapia

* Commercial fishing
* World fish production
* Commercial species
* Fishing topics
* Fisheries glossary

Taxon identifiers

Mugilidae|

* Wikidata: Q42237
* Wikispecies: Mugilidae
* AFD: Mugilidae
* BOLD: 1863
* CoL: CYR
* EoL: 5287
* EPPO: 1MUGIF
* Fauna Europaea: 12073
* Fauna Europaea (new): 2c548fd3-12ee-4e4c-abb0-9c79517c210b
* GBIF: 8473
* iNaturalist: 54661
* IRMNG: 114671
* ITIS: 170333
* NBN: NBNSYS0000160464
* NCBI: 8189
* NZOR: d9a38438-1551-41b9-b41d-8eb0540f6dcb
* Open Tree of Life: 437596
* Paleobiology Database: 266192
* Plazi: FD1087D9-FFA9-4A58-FF67-A5844C89FB7F
* WoRMS: 125546

Mugiliformes|

* Wikidata: Q3327483
* Wikispecies: Mugiliformes
* ADW: Mugiliformes
* AFD: Mugiliformes
* BHL: 9348505
* BOLD: 151696
* CoL: 3LB
* EoL: 2807794
* GBIF: 1067
* iNaturalist: 85529
* ITIS: 553132
* NBN: NHMSYS0020959153
* NCBI: 41872
* NZOR: c2ddb538-82da-4821-800f-df43a8d4b14b
* Open Tree of Life: 300513
* Paleobiology Database: 92074
* Plazi: AB0787CD-0A4E-FF90-FDAB-FD0BE5872027
* WoRMS: 397228

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* United States
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