Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes
(Perch-likes) > Mullidae
Etymology: Mullus: Latin, mullus = soft (Ref. 45335). More on author: Linnaeus.
Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; demersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 5 - 409 m (Ref. 56504). Subtropical; 62°N - 14°N, 19°W - 42°E
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 16.1, range 15 - 26 cm
Max length : 40.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3397); common length : 25.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4845); max. published weight: 1.0 kg (Ref. 35388); max. reported age: 11 years (Ref. 92286)
Head is less steep. Barbels longer than pectoral fin. Body with longitudinal red and brown stripes. First dorsal fin with dark markings (Ref. 35388).
Eastern Atlantic: Western Norway, English Channel (rare in North Sea) to Dakar, Senegal and the Canary Islands, including the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
Adults occur on broken and rough grounds but also found over sand and soft bottoms at depths less than 100 m. Depth range from 5-60 m (Ref. 07313) and from 305-409 m in the eastern Ionian Sea (Ref. 56504). Feed on benthic organisms such as shrimps and amphipods, polychaetes, mollusks, and benthic fishes. Spawning occurs from May to July, eggs and larvae are pelagic (Ref. 4845). Marketed fresh and frozen for steaming, pan-frying, broiling and baking (Ref. 9988).
Ben-Tuvia, A., 1990. Mullidae. p. 827-829. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)
Threat to humans
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
Estimates of some properties based on empirical models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5625 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00860 (-0.01369 - 0.03089), b=3.12 (3.11 - 3.14), based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 3.4 ±0.5 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.1-0.4; tm=2; tmax=10).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Moderate vulnerability (37 of 100) .