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 long. Note that silver mullet is also a common name used for fantail mullet ('' Mugil trichodon'').

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 Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer months. The ...

and, rarely, even up to

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. In the Eastern Atlantic it occurs from

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, and in the Eastern Pacific from Chile to the

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

. 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 the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of ...

Atlantic USA

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

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and

southern Alabama South Alabama and Lower Alabama are overlapping, poorly-defined terms for 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 ...

, 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 temperate, tropical and subtropical waters worldwide. Its length is typically . It is known with numerous Eng ...

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

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...

, 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 environm ...

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

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1818649

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 long. Note that silver mullet is also a common name used for fantail mullet ('' Mugil trichodon''). Dis ...

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