Sea Mullet

Mugil cephalus

Mugil cephalus - Sea Mullet
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image_search Terms and anatomy

Size: 70 cm

Distribution: All SA coastal and gulf waters. Global tropical and temperate distribution

Habitat: Coastal waters, estuaries and occasionally freshwater

Depth: Subtidal to 10+ metres

The "Sea Mullet" is found in coastal waters, estuaries, and the lower reaches of rivers, in temparate to tropical seas worldwide. This species is silvery and has a number of grey horizontal stripes. It has larger scales than the more common Aldrichetta forsteri and lacks the yellow eye. It is also very similar to the Goldspot Mullet (Liza argentea) and the Sand Mullet (Myxus elongatus). However, it does not have a gold spot on the operculum like the former, and has a large semicircular axil-spot at the base of the pectoral fin, unlike the latter. It is suspected that this species is actually a complex of very similar species, and the population found in SA may be distinct from those found in other places globally.