The white mullet or silver mullet (''Mugil curema'') is a tropical and subtropical marine fish of the family

Mugilidae The mullets or grey mullets are a family (Mugilidae) of ray-finned fish found worldwide in coastal temperate and tropical waters, and some species in fresh water. Mullets have served as an important source of food in Mediterranean Europe since R ...

. It is commonly about 30 cm long. Note that silver mullet is also a common name used for fantail mullet (''Mugil gyrans'').

Distribution and habitat

The white mullet is an Atlantic and Pacific fish mainly found on American coasts. In the Western Atlantic it ranges from Argentina to

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

and rarely even up to

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. In the Eastern Atlantic it occurs from

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

, and in the Eastern Pacific from Chile to the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja Ca ...

. The white mullet is found along sandy coasts and in littoral pools, but also occurs in brackish lagoons and estuaries on muddy substrates and sometimes even in rivers. Juveniles in particular invade estuaries and coastal lagoons. Adults occur in

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

Atlantic USA

In the US, owing to their small size (less than 12 inches), white mullet are primarily used for bait. In some parts of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

southern Alabama South Alabama is the various parts of southern Alabama. Although it is not a strictly defined geographic region, it generally includes all Alabama counties south of the Black Belt. In that view, ''South Alabama'' consists of just the two counties ...

, they are occasionally eaten in the place of the much larger

striped mullet The flathead grey mullet (''Mugil cephalus'') is an important food fish species in the mullet family Mugilidae. It is found in coastal tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. Its length is typically . It is known with numerous English names, ...

(or flathead mullet) (''Mugil cephalus''). Adult white and striped mullet consume the mud found on the bottom of estuarine waters, digesting the

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) that are unable to propel themselves against a Ocean current, current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankt ...

, and plant and animal detritus therein. These mullet are unique in having a muscular gizzard. They are an important part of the ecologies of

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

and coastal waters of the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of America.

References

External links

white mullet The white mullet or silver mullet (''Mugil curema'') is a tropical and subtropical marine fish of the family Mugilidae. It is commonly about 30 cm long. Note that silver mullet is also a common name used for fantail mullet (''Mugil gyrans'') ...

Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Western American coastal fauna Taxa named by Achille Valenciennes

{{Mugiliformes-stub