Relevant synonyms Mugil so-iuy Mugil soiuy Misidentification None Meristic formula D1, IV; D2, I +8-9; A, III + 8-9; P, 13-15; V, 1+5  drawing : Tuvia Kurz

SHORT DESCRIPTION Body elongated, subcylindrical. Two well-separated dorsal fins, the first with four spines. Second dorsal fin origin behind anal fin origin. Caudal fin forked. Head pointed and flat dorsally, its length ca. 1/4 standard length. Small mouth with thin lips. Maxillary pad not visible when mouth closed. Two rows of minute teeth in the upper jaw. Very small teeth on tongue arch. Transparent adipose eyelid covers only small part of the iris. Single group of six pyloric caeca, of similar size. Large cycloid scales. No clear lateral line, but 41-50 scales in lateral series. color : back--greenish-grey to brownish. Dorsal fins darker. Belly--light grey. Anal and ventral fins have yellow touch. Iris--reddish-orange. size : common 20-30 cm (max. 61 cm)*. * Note: in the Black Sea, exceptionally large specimens have been caught (up to 10 kg). DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Mugil cephalus: slit-like eyelid covering most of the pupil. Liza spp.: maxillary pad below mouth cover is visible when mouth closed. Chelon labrosus and Oedalechilus labeo: thick upper lip. Scombridae: presence of finlet. Moronidae, Atherinidae and Sphyraenidae: first dorsal fin with 5 or more spines. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY A highly euryhaline species that inhabits both freshwater and marine environments. Omnivorous; in the Black Sea, prefers feeding in less saline water and main food is detritus, diatoms and blue-green algae. Very high growth rate, reaching ca. 60 cm in five years. Eggs and larvae planktonic. Juveniles inhabit estuaries. habitat : mainly coastal waters and estuaries.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Northern Aegean Sea, 1998. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : Far-Eastern Asia, from Russia to China. Mediterranean : recorded first in northern Aegean Sea (Kaya et al., 1998) ; successively recorded in north-east Thracian Sea and northern Aegean Sea (Economidis, pers. comm.). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Very rare, only several specimens have been recorded from the northern Aegean Sea. speculated reasons for success : MODE OF INTRODUCTION Introduced by humans for aquaculture in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea before entering to the Mediterranean (the northern Aegean Sea) via the Sea of Marmara. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None in the Mediterranean. Elsewhere, commercially important and introduced into the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, establishing large populations with commercial importance.

KEY REFERENCES Kaya M., Mater S. and Korkut A. Y., 1998. A new grey mullet species "Mugil so-iuy Basilewsky" (Teleostei: Mugilidae) from the Aegean Coast of Turkey. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 22: 303-306 Starushenko L. I. and Kazansky A.B., 1996. Introduction of Mullet haarder (Mugil so-iuy Basilewsky) into the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Studies and Reviews no. 67. General Fisheries Council for the Mediterranean (GFCM). FAO, pp. 1-29. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: January 2009 ©ciesm 2002