The Lebranche mullet or the liza (''Mugil liza'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of saltwater

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

in 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 found in the western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea and is fished commercially.

Description

The size of a liza is commonly about 40 centimetres, a record size is 80 cm. There are 5 dorsal spines with 8 dorsal soft rays and 3 anal spines with 8 anal soft rays.''Mugil liza''

FishBase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

Distribution

''Mugil liza'' occurs in coastal waters in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

and along the eastern seaboard of America from Florida south to Argentina. It is found in marine and brackish environments and even ventures into freshwater sometimes.

Biology

''Mugil liza'' is a

detritivore Detritivores (also known as detrivores, detritophages, detritus feeders, or detritus eaters) are heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by consuming detritus (decomposing plant and animal parts as well as feces). There are many kinds of invertebrates, ...

and also feeds on filamentous algae. Spawning takes place offshore in the summer between May and August. The fecundity rate is high and several million eggs are produced. These are non-adhesive and are

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or wa ...

. The males mature at a younger age than the females and are less numerous.

Human consumption

''Mugil liza'' is collected from the shore using

fishing nets A fishing net is a net used for fishing. Nets are devices made from fibers woven in a grid-like structure. Some fishing nets are also called fish traps, for example fyke nets. Fishing nets are usually meshes formed by knotting a relatively thin ...

. It is a highly commercial fish, fetching a high market price both fresh and salted.Cervigón, F., R. Cipriani, W. Fischer, L. Garibaldi, M. Hendrickx, A.J. Lemus, R. Márquez, J.M. Poutiers, G. Robaina y B. Rodriguez, 1992. "Fichas FAO de identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Guía de campo de las especies comerciales marinas y de aquas salobres de la costa septentrional de Sur América". FAO, Rome. 513 p. The eggs are also commercialised. They are consumed dry or salted, and are considered a delicacy. Because of the high value of this fish, it is frequently used in

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

.Robins, C.R. y G.C. Ray, 1986. "A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America". Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, USA. p. 354.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1911764 Lebranche mullet Taxa named by Achille Valenciennes Fish described in 1836