The Diassanga mullet (''Chelon bandialensis'') is a species of

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

grey mullet Grey mullet can mean any of several fish in the family ''Mugilidae'' (the mullets) and having a greyish hue: * Flathead grey mullet, ''Mugil cephalus'' * Thicklip grey mullet, ''Chelon labrosus'' * Boxlip grey mullet, ''Oedalechilus labeo'' * Leapi ...

from the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Mugilidae. It is found in the eastern Atlantic around the coasts of

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

Description

The Diassanga mullet has a rounded, rather robust body with a pointed head which is about a quarter of the length of the body. The eye is surrounded by a small rim of adipose tissue and its upper lip has a thickness equal to a third of the diameter of the eye while the lower lip is much thinner. It has a silvery blueish-grey back with paler flanks which are marked with seven longitudinal grey lines. The anal and

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

s are yellow, as is the

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

but this has a black margin. They grow to in

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

Distribution

The Diassanga mullet is an eastern Atlantic species which occurs in the coastal waters of Senegal, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau.

Habitat and ecology

The Diassanga mullet is a relatively large and uncommon species within its distribution where it occurs in shallow coastal waters and estuaries with sandy substrates. It breeds in estuaries. Its larval and juvenile stages are unknown.

Taxonomy and naming

The Diassanga mullet and the southern African striped mullet (''

Chelon tricuspidens ''Chelon tricuspidens'', the striped mullet, is a species of ray-finned fish from the family Mugilidae. It is found in southern Africa where its known range comprises Mossel Bay Mossel Bay ( af, Mosselbaai) is a harbour town of about 99,000 ...

'') are closely related and these two taxa seem to have separated when the Benguela Current, as it exists today, was formed about 3-12 million years ago. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

refers to the Bandiala, one of the constituent rivers of the Sine-Saloum in Senegal.

Conservation

This species is subjected to some subsistence fisheries and the total grey mullet catch in west Africa in 2010 was 30,257 tons. The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

classify this species as

Data Deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...

and state that more research is needed into its current population size and trend as well as its habitats, ecology, life history and any threats to its population.

References

{{Taxonbar, From=Q46638534 Diassanga mullet Fish described in 1991 Fish of the Atlantic Ocean