Red goatfish (Mullus auratus)

Scientific name: Mullus auratus Jordan & Gilbert, 1882

Red goatfish (Mullus auratus)

The Red goatfish (Mullus auratus) is a marine fish of the family Mullidae. Native range: Western Atlantic, Nova Scotia, Canada and Bermuda to Guyana. Rare north of Florida, USA; absent from Bahamas.

Biology

Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 6. Red to reddish dorsally, grading to whitish ventrally, with 2 to 5 longitudinal yellow stripes that are generally not sharply defined. First dorsal fin with 2 orange to red stripes, the outer part of fin sometimes blackish. Second dorsal fin with 4 or 5 narrow reddish stripes. Caudal fin reddish. Snout short, the dorsal profile steep, forming an angle of about 60? and nearly straight. Interorbital space broad and flat. Teeth very small, in a villiform band in lower jaw, none in upper jaw. No spine in opercle (Ref 52648).

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Mullus auratus
Family
Mullidae (Goatfishes)
Order
Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
25.0
Common length
16.0
Depth range
9–91 m (30–299 ft)
Environment
Marine; demersal; depth range 9 - 91 m, usually 10 - 60 m
Climate
Subtropical
Distribution
Western Atlantic: Nova Scotia, Canada and Bermuda to Guyana. Rare north of Florida, USA; absent from Bahamas.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: minor commercial
Resilience
High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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