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

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

, grey mullet from the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 eastern Atlantic around the coasts of

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

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 Adipose tissue (also known as body fat or simply fat) is a loose connective tissue composed mostly of adipocytes. It also contains the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of cells including preadipocytes, fibroblasts, Blood vessel, vascular endothel ...

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 Anal may refer to: Related to the anus *Related to the anus of animals: ** Anal fin, in fish anatomy ** Anal vein, in insect anatomy ** Anal scale, in reptile anatomy *Related to the human anus: ** Anal sex, a type of sexual activity involving ...

and

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

s are yellow, as is the

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

but this has a black margin. They grow to in

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

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'') are closely related and these two taxa seem to have separated when the

Benguela Current The Benguela Current is the broad, northward flowing ocean current that forms the eastern portion of the South Atlantic Ocean gyre. The current extends from roughly Cape Point in the south, to the position of the Angola-Benguela Front in the no ...

, 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 Sine-Saloum is a region in Senegal located north of the Gambia and south of the Petite Côte. It encompasses an area of 24,000 square kilometers, about 12% of Senegal, with a population in the 1990s of 1,060,000. The western portion contains the ...

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) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

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 Marine fish of West Africa Fish described in 1991