Mugil cephalus, Flathead grey mullet : fisheries, aquaculture, gamefish, bait
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Mugil cephalus Linnaeus, 1758

Flathead grey mullet
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
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Mugil cephalus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Mexico country information

Common names: Lisa, Lisa rayada, Liza cabezona
Occurrence: native
Salinity: freshwater
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: commercial | Ref: Anonymous, 1994
Aquaculture: commercial | Ref: FAO, 1997
Regulations: restricted | Ref: Anonymous, 1994
Uses: no uses
Comments: Recorded from Laguna de Términos (Ref. 79080) and Celestún Biosphere Reserve, Yucatan (Ref. 74908). Marketed fresh (whole, fillet, spat), salt-dried, smoked, or as salt-dried fish roe. Regulations: catch season: 1 Feb.-30 Nov. (Baja California to Jalisco), 1 Jan.- 31 Oct. (Colima to Chaipas), 16 Mar.-14 Nov. and 1-31 Jan. (Gulf of Mexico); closed season: 1 Dec.-31 Jan. (Baja California to Jalisco), 1 Nov.-31 Dec. (Colima to Chaipas), 15 Nov.-31 Dec. and 1 Feb.-15 Mar. (Tamaulipas and Veracruz); minimum size: 30 cm TL; mesh size: 3.5 in. (Pacific coast) and 4 in. (Gulf of Mexico) (Ref. 26550).
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/mx.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Anonymous, 1994
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Mulet à grosse tête, Pardete, 鲻, ... more

Classification / Names Nomi Comuni | Sinonimi | Catalog of Fishes(Genere, Specie) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

> Mugiliformes (Mullets) > Mugilidae (Mullets)
Etymology: Mugil: Latin, mugil, -ilis = grey mullet (Ref. 45335); cephalus: cephalus meaning head (Ref. 10294).
More on author: Linnaeus.

Issue
Genetic data indicate that Mugil cephalus is globally a complex of species, At least 14 species (incl. former synonyms) have been recognized. The name should be applied only in North-East Atlantic and Mediterranean, Where species are sympatric, genetic and ecological data have confirmed the species validity (Refs. 89471,123406; 123405).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / distribuzione batimetrica / distribution range Ecologia

marino; acqua dolce; salmastro benthopelagico; catadromo (Ref. 51243); distribuzione batimetrica 0 - 120 m (Ref. 9321), usually 0 - 10 m. Subtropical; 8°C - 24°C (Ref. 4944); 62°N - 57°S, 180°W - 180°E (Ref. 117425)

Distribuzione Stati | Aree FAO | Ecosystems | Presenze | Mappa dei ritrovamenti | Introduzioni | Faunafri

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).

Length at first maturity / Size / Peso / Age

Maturità: Lm 35.4, range 30 - ? cm
Max length : 100.0 cm SL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. 2804); common length : 50.0 cm SL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. 7399); Età massima riportata: 16 anni (Ref. 28725)

Short description Chiavi di identificazione | Morfologia | Morfometria

Spine dorsali (totale) : 5; Raggi dorsali molli (totale) : 7 - 9; Spine anali: 3; Raggi anali molli: 8 - 9. Diagnosis: body stout, cylindrical in cross-section, slightly compressed; head broad and flattened (Ref. 57400). Well developed adipose eyelid (Ref. 40476, 57400) covering most of pupil (Ref. 57400). Upper lip thin and without papillae (Ref. 57400), with 1-2 outer rows of small, moderately close-set, unicuspid teeth and up to 6 inner rows of smaller, bicuspid teeth (Ref. 81659). Lower lip with outer row of small unicuspid teeth and sometimes 1 or more inner rows of smaller, bicuspid teeth (Ref. 81659). Hind end of upper jaw reaching a vertical line from anterior eye margin; maxillary pad not visible below corner of mouth when closed; origin of 1st dorsal fin nearer to snout tip than to caudal-fin base (Ref. 57400). Anterior parts and bases of 2nd dorsal and anal fins with a moderately dense coverage of scales (Ref. 57400, 81659). Pectoral axillary process (Ref. 57400). 13-15 scale rows between origins of dorsal and pelvic fins (Ref. 57400, 81659). Pelvic fins, anal fin, and lower lobe of caudal fin yellowish in specimens from the tropical Atlantic coast of Africa (Ref. 57400, 81659).
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal; Cross section: circular.

Biologia     Glossario (es. epibenthic)

Adults are found in coastal waters (Ref. 2850, 44894, 57400), often entering estuaries and rivers (Ref. 2847, 3573, 11230, 44894, 57400), sometimes far-up-river, lagoons and hypersaline environments (Ref. 57400). They are 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). They are mainly diurnal, feeding on detritus, micro-algae and benthic organisms (Ref. 56548, 74902, 74760). Juveniles feed on zooplankton until about 3.0 cm SL (Ref. 59043). Reproduction takes place at sea, at various times of the year depending on the location (Ref. 74907, Amour). Adults form schools and migrate offshore to spawn and developing larvae migrate back inshore (Ref. 81659). There is absence of an obligatory freshwater phase in the life cycle (Ref. 74752). Females spawn 0.8 to 2.6 million eggs which develop at sea (Ref. 74912, Chen & Su 1986). Sexually mature at 3 to 4 years (Ref. 74902). Maximum length reported as 120 cm SL (Ref. 7399, 57400, 81659) remains to be confirmed (Project MUGIL). Maximum weight reported as 12 kg (Ref. 56527) seems too 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).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturità | Riproduzione | Deposizione | Uova | Fecundity | Larve

One spawning aggregation was observed in detail. This consisted of five fish, a female and four males. Males would press against the female, which took place as the entire group moved along slowly, facing into a fairly strong tidal flow.

Main reference Upload your references | Bibliografia | Coordinatore : Harrison, Ian | Collaboratori

Harrison, I.J., 1995. Mugilidae. Lisas. p. 1293-1298. In W. Fischer, F. Krupp, W. Schneider, C. Sommer, K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) Guia FAO para Identification de Especies para lo Fines de la Pesca. Pacifico Centro-Oriental. 3 Vols. FAO, Rome. (Ref. 9321)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 30 May 2022

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless (Ref. 4887)





Human uses

Pesca: elevato interesse commerciale; Acquacoltura: commerciale; Pesce da pesca sportiva: si; esca: occasionally
FAO - Aquaculture systems: production, species profile; pesca: landings, species profile; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

Informazioni ulteriori

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Alimentazione
Consumo di cibo
Food rations
Predatori
Ecologia
Ecologia
Home ranges
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Reclutamento
Abbondanza
Life cycle
Riproduzione
Maturità
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Deposizione
Spawning aggregations
Uova
Egg development
Larve
Dinamica popolazioni larvali
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Stati
Aree FAO
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Nomi Comuni
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Bibliografia

Strumenti

E-book | Giuda pratica | Chiavi di identificazione | Generatore frequenze di lunghezza | Strumento Parametri Biologici | Mappa dei ritrovamenti | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

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Fonti Internet

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: Genere, Specie | DiscoverLife | DORIS | ECOTOX | FAO - Aquaculture systems: production, species profile; pesca: landings, species profile; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | GoMexSI (interaction data) | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | Database Nazionali | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Acquari pubblici | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, ricerca | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Fonte Biblio. 123201): 11.3 - 27.9, mean 23.2 °C (based on 3258 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Fonte Biblio. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01202 (0.01084 - 0.01333), b=2.94 (2.91 - 2.97), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Fonte Biblio. 69278):  2.5   ±0.17 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 4.8 (4.1 - 5.5) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 20 growth studies.
Resilienza (Fonte Biblio. 120179):  Basso, tempo minimo di raddoppiamento della popolazione 4.5 - 14 anni (K=0.09-0.8; tm=2-8; tmax=16; Fec=1.6 million).
Prior r = 0.51, 95% CL = 0.34 - 0.77, Based on 12 data-limited stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (43 of 100). 🛈
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  High vulnerability (59 of 100). 🛈
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Very high.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 102 [37, 281] mg/100g; Iron = 1.92 [0.31, 9.44] mg/100g; Protein = 19.6 [18.1, 21.0] %; Omega3 = 0.462 [0.196, 1.091] g/100g; Selenium = 68.3 [27.6, 201.8] μg/100g; VitaminA = 7.56 [2.17, 26.41] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.55 [0.73, 3.87] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.