Mullets
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 Roman times. In ancient Egypt, people ate pickled and dried mullet called fesikh. The family includes about 78 species in 26 genera.
Mullets are distinguished by the presence of two separate dorsal fins, small, triangular mouths, and the absence of a lateral line organ. They feed on detritus, and most species have unusually muscular stomachs and a complex pharynx to help in digestion.
24 branches of this family, most-observed first · about 76 known species
Common Mullets
genusMugil
Chelon
genusChelon
Boxlip Mullets
genusOedalechilus
Squaretail Mullets
genusEllochelon
Yelloweye Mullets
genusAldrichetta
Moolgarda
genusMoolgarda
Mountain Mullets
genusDajaus
Planiliza
genusPlaniliza
Sand Mullets
genusMyxus
Sharpnose Mullets
genusNeomyxus
Largescaled Mullets
genusParachelon
Osteomugil
genusOsteomugil
Rhinomugil
genusRhinomugil
Fringe-lip Mullets
genusPlicomugil
Snouted Mullets
genusChaenomugil
Paramugil
genusParamugil
Goldspot Mullets
genusGracilimugil
Pinkeye Mullets
genusTrachystoma
Freshwater Mullets
genusPseudomyxus
Sicklefin Mullets
genusNeochelon
Bobo Mullets
genusJoturus
Sicamugil
genusSicamugil
Cestraeus
genusCestraeus
Agonostomus
genusAgonostomus
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Mugilidae in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 54661.