Mullus

Mullus is a subtropical marine genus of ray-finned fish of the family Mullidae (goatfish) and includes the red mullets, occurring mainly in the southwest Atlantic near the South American coast and in the Eastern Atlantic including the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.^[3] These fish are benthic and can be found resting and feeding over soft substrates.

Mullus
Red mullet (Mullus barbatus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Syngnathiformes
Family:	Mullidae
Genus:	Mullus Linnaeus, 1758[1]
Type species
Mullus barbatus Linnaeus, 1758[2]

Distribution

Members of the genus Mullus can be found in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Mediterranean Sea. They are often found over soft substrates, such as sand, in which they search for prey using sensitive whiskers.

Species

There are currently four recognized species in this genus:^[4]

Species	Common name	Image
Mullus argentinae Hubbs & Marini, 1933	Argentine goatfish
Mullus auratus Jordan & Gilbert, 1882	Red goatfish
Mullus barbatus Linnaeus, 1758	Red mullet
Mullus surmuletus Linnaeus, 1758	Surmullet

Commercial Significance

The most commercially important of these species is the Red Mullet (M. barbatus) which is common in Mediterranean cuisine and often fished for using seine nets, a practice thought to be damaging as it can remove large numbers of spawning fish.