Country Species Summary

Mugil cephalus in Barbados
Flathead mullet

Mugil cephalus Linnaeus, 1758
Family:	Mugilidae (Mullets)	picture (Mucep_u5.jpg) by Randall, J.E.
Order:	Mugiliformes (Mullets)
Class:	Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
FishBase name:	Flathead mullet
Max. size:	100.0 cm SL (male/unsexed; Ref. 2804); max. reported age: 16 years
Environment:	benthopelagic; catadromous ; depth range 0 - 120 m
Climate:	subtropical; 8 - 24°C; 62°N - 57°S
Global Importance:	fisheries: highly commercial; aquaculture: commercial; bait: occasionally
Resilience:	Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.09-0.15; tm=2-6; tmax=16; Fec=1.6 million)
Distribution:	Cosmopolitan in coastal waters of the tropical, subtropical and temperate zones of all seas. Eastern Pacific: California, USA to Chile (Ref. 2850). Western Pacific: Japan to Australia (Ref. 9812). Western Indian Ocean: from India to South Africa (Ref. 4393). Western Atlantic: Nova Scotia, Canada to Brazil (Ref. 7251); Cape Cod to southern Gulf of Mexico (Ref. 26938); absent in the Bahamas and most of West Indies and Caribbean (Ref. 7251, 9761). Eastern Atlantic: Bay of Biscay to South Africa, including the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea (Ref. 7399). Reported in Sea of Okhotsk (Ref. 50550).
Diagnosis:	Dorsal spines (total): 5-5; Dorsal soft rays (total): 7-9; Anal spines: 3-3; Anal soft rays: 8-9. Color olive-green dorsally, sides silvery shading to white ventrally; lateral stripes sometimes distinctive. Lips thin. Pectoral fins short (when folded forward does not reach eye). Well developed adipose eyelid. Anal spines 3 in adults; anal soft rays 8 in adults, 9 in larvae.
Biology:	Coastal species (Ref. 2850, 44894) that often enter estuaries and rivers (Ref. 2847, 3573, 11230, 44894). Usually in schools over sand or mud bottom (Ref. 2850), between 0 and 10 m, occurring equally in tropical, subtropical and temperate waters (Project MUGIL). Mainly diurnal, feed on zooplankton as larvae, detritus, micro-algae and benthic organisms as juvenile and adult fish (Ref. 56548, 74902, 74760). Reproduction takes place in the sea, at various times of the year depending on the location (Ref. 74907, Amour). Does not have an obligatory freshwater phase in its life cycle (Ref. 74752). Females spawn 0.8 to 2.6 million eggs (Ref. 74912, Chen & Su 1986). Sexually mature at 3 to 4 years (Ref. 74902). Maximum length reported as 120 cm SL (Ref. 7399) remains to be confirmed (Project MUGIL). Maximum weight reported as 12 kg (Ref. 56527) seems to high for the area and remains to be confirmed (Project MUGIL). Widely cultivated in freshwater and brackish ponds (Ref. 2847, Jackson 1984, Liao 1981). Marketed fresh, dried, salted, and frozen; roe sold fresh or smoked (Ref. 9321); also used in Chinese medicine (Ref. 12166
Threatened:	, (Ref. 36508)
Dangerous:	harmless , Honebrink, R.. 1990
Coordinator:	Harrison, Ian
Main Ref:	Harrison, I.J.. 1995. (Ref. 9321)
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Barbados country information
Common names:	Bright mullet, Mullet	Ref: Butsch, R.S., 1939
Status:	questionable	Ref:
Salinity:	freshwater, brackish, marine
Abundance:	abundant (always seen in some numbers)	Ref: Butsch, R.S., 1939
Regulations:	no regulations	Ref:
Uses:	no uses
Comments:	Out of distributional range. Occurrence needs verification.
Country Information:	www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bb.html
National Fisheries Authority:	www.cep.unep.org/barbados/fisheries/pages/fisheries.html
Occurrences:	Occurrences Point map
Main Ref:	Thomson, J.M., 1978
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Modified: Froese, Rainer

Entered: Garilao, Cristina V.

CGNET - US

Page created by: Eli, 20.10.03, last modified by Eli, 26.06.07

	Ref.:		Glossary
		(e.g. 9948)		(e.g. cephalopods)
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