Bony fish · Perciformes · Mullidae

Striped Red Mullet

Mullus surmuletus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

Its two long chin barbels, rich in sensory receptors, let it find prey buried in the sand. It was a luxury delicacy in ancient Rome, where the way it changed colour as it died was regarded as a spectacle.

Weight

200 g – 1 kg

Size

25 cm – 40 cm

Lifespan

8 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

OceanCarnivore Diurnal Solitary Fish Ocean

29countries 36parks 80dive sites

Fun facts

anatomíaIt has a pair of sensory barbels under the jaw that it uses to find small invertebrates buried in the sea-floor sediment.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (fish)
Habitat & environment: Rocky, sandy and seagrass bottoms of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, from Norway to Senegal
Birth weight: Pelagic egg; a pelagic larva on hatching after some 3 days
Size at birth: A pelagic larva; it takes up life on the bottom at around 3 cm long
Sexual maturity: 1-3 years (15-17 cm long, depending on population and region)
Gestation / incubation: ~3 days of egg development before hatching
Litter / clutch size: A relative fecundity of hundreds to thousands of eggs per gram of female body weight

Sources consulted: Academia.edu (Edremit Bay study); Journal of Applied Ichthyology (English Channel study); FishBase; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Springer Marine Biology (Majorca study); Waterworlds; Grokipedia