Mugil cephalus Linnaeus, 1758

Flathead mullet

Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Classification	Actinopterygii \| Mugiliformes \| Mugilidae
Synonyms	Mugil cephalus cephalus, Mugil albula, Mugil ashanteensis, ... more
Common names	Flathead grey mullet, Mulet à grosse tête, Pardete, ... more

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| Native range | PointMap | Year 2050 |

AquaMaps Data sources: GBIF OBIS

Main reference

Harrison, I.J. 1995. (Ref. 9321)
Other references | Biblio | Coordinator : Harrison, Ian | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 100.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2804); common length : 50.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7399); max. reported age: 16 years (Ref. 28725)

Length at first maturity

L_m 33.33, range 20 - 40 cm

Environment

Benthopelagic; catadromous (Ref. 51243); freshwater; brackish; marine; depth range 0 - 120 m (Ref. 9321), usually 0 - 10 m

Climate / Range

Subtropical; 8°C - 24°C (Ref. 4944); 62°N - 57°S, 180°W - 180°E (Ref. 54241)

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).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 5; Dorsal soft rays (total): 7 - 9; Anal spines: 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.

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)


IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 57073)	Threat to humans
Least Concern (LC)	Harmless (Ref. 4887)

Human uses
Fisheries: highly commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes; bait: occasionally


More information
Countries FAO areas Ecosystems Occurrences Introductions Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration	Common names Synonyms Metabolism Predators Ecotoxicology Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg development	Age/Size Growth Length-weight Length-length Length-frequencies Morphometrics Morphology Larvae Larval dynamics Recruitment Abundance	Other references Biblio Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Strains Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Diseases Processing	Collaborators Pictures Stamps Sounds Ciguatera Speed Swim. type Gill area Otoliths Brains Vision

Tools
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Special reports
Check for Aquarium maintenance \| Check for Species Fact Sheets \| Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

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Internet sources

Estimation of some characteristics with mathematical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)

PD₅₀ = 0.5000

Resilience (Ref. 69278)

Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.09-0.15; tm=2-6; tmax=16; Fec=1.6 million)


Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)	Price category (Ref. 80766)
Moderate vulnerability (42 of 100)	Very high

Entered by Papasissi, Christine

Modified by Bailly, Nicolas

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