Relevant synonyms None Misidentification Upeneus asymmetricus Upeneus tragula Upeneus vittatus Meristic formula D1, VII; D2, 8-10; A, I + 6-8; P, 13-16; V, I + 5; LL, 28-33; GR, 24-28  photo : David Darom

SHORT DESCRIPTION Body elongated, subcylindrical in front and somewhat compressed from midpoint. Two well-separated dorsal fins. First dorsal spine the longest. Second dorsal fin opposite anal fin. Caudal fin deeply forked. A pair of barbels in the chin, their length 15-20% from SL. Villiform teeth arrange in 3-4 rows in front and 1-2 in the back. Elliptic patches on the palatine. Four scales between dorsal fins. color : back and sides mottled brown-reddish. Belly whitish. Upper lobe of caudal fin with 3-7 reddish-brown bars with white interspace. Lower lobe with 4-5 of the same color. size : common 5-14 cm (max. 17 cm). DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Upeneus moluccensis: very distinct single yellow longitudinal stripe; lower caudal lobe without stripes; eight dorsal spines (first quite small). Mullus spp.: no teeth in upper jaw. Pseudupeneus prayensis: spine on opercular margine; no stripes on caudal fin. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Feeds on small hypobenthic invertebrates, mainly crustaceans and, to a lesser extent, polychaetes, which they detect with their barbels. Spawning season lasts from April to September. Planktonic eggs (diameter 0.3-0.4 mm) and larvae. Settlement occurs 6-9 months after hatching, upon reaching length of 3-4 cm. habitat : benthic. Sandy and muddy substrate to 50 m.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Iskenderum, Turkey, 1950. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : Red Sea and Gulf of Oman. Mediterranean : recorded first at Iskenderum, Turkey (Kosswig, 1950) as Upenoides (= Upeneus) tragula ; successively recorded in Israel (Ben-Tuvia, 1953) (as Upeneus sp.) and Egypt (El Sayed, 1994). Tunisia; Gokova Bay (Turkey); Lemsos (Cyprus) and eastern Libya. ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Very common in Eastern Levant. speculated reasons for success : unknown. MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS Caught in large quantities by trawl in shallow waters of 10-40 m.

KEY REFERENCES George C.J. and Athanassiou V.A., 1967. A two year study of the fishes appearing in the seine fishery of St.George Bay, Lebanon. Annali del Museo civico di Storia naturale Giacomo Doria, 76: 237-294. Golani D., 1994. Niche separation between colonizing and indigenous goatfishes (Mullidae) of the Mediterranean coast of Israel. Journal of Fish Biology, 45: 503-513. Kosswig C., 1950. Erythräische Fische im Mittelmeer und an der Grenze der Ägais. Syllegomena Biologica. Festschrift Kleinschmidt. Leipzig: Akademie Verlag. pp 203-212. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: November 2013 ©ciesm 2002