Mullus auratus
Red Goatfish
ES: chivo colorado, salmonete rojo
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Mullidae (Goatfishes)
Mullus
Mullus auratus (Red Goatfish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Oblong in profile, with broad, flat interorbital space. Snout relatively blunt, dorsal profile of head strongly convex. Posterior naris slitlike, close to anterior margin of orbit. Posterior margin of maxilla extends to anterior margin of orbit. Jaw teeth villiform, in narrow band in lower jaw, absent in upper jaw. Teeth present in vomer and palatine. Opercular margin lacks spine. Gill rakers on first arch number 18 to 21. Measurements (% SL): head length 27%–29%, snout length 12%–13%, eye diameter 7%–8%, upper jaw length 9%–10%, pectoral fin length 19%–23%, body depth 25%–28%. Pectoral fin rays number 16 or 17. First dorsal fin has eight spines, with first minute. Second dorsal fin has one spine and 8 rays. Anal fin has two spines and 6 rays. Lateral line scales number 34 to 37.
Bright scarlet or crimson, with two distinct yellow to reddish stripes on side. Upper stripe extends from opercular margin to end of second dorsal fin, and lower stripe extends from opercular margin to caudal fin base. Spinous dorsal fin is pale, with orange stripe at base and yellow to brownish stripe near tip, and second dorsal fin has series of yellowish to red spots forming stripe.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Cape Cod to Guyana, including the entire Gulf of Mexico and the Antilles.
Habitat Associations
Between 9 and 91 m, associated with muddy bottoms
Muddy bottoms
Biology
Food consists of infaunal invertebrates
Maximum known size is 270 mm TL
Inhabits neritic waters, especially over sand or mud bottoms (Ref. 5217). Flesh considered excellent quality; marketed fresh (Ref. 3792).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Oviparous (Ref. 101743).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2013-01-29. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial.
References
Hoese and Moore 1977
Johnson 1978
Matsuura 1983g
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Schaldach et al. 1997
Cervigón 1993a
Cervigón 1993b
Randall 2002a
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Uyeno, T., K. Matsuura and E. Fujii (eds.) (1983) Fishes trawled off Suriname and French Guiana. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo, Japan. 519 p.
Randall, J.E. (2003) Mullidae. Goatfishes. p. 1654-1659. In K.E. Carpenter (ed.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae), sea turtles and marine mammals.
Patzner, R.A. (2008) Reproductive strategies of fish. pp. 311-350. In Rocha, M.J., A. Arukwe and B.G. Kapoor (eds). Fish reproduction: cytology, biology and ecology. Science Publisher, Inc. Oxford. 631 p.
Watson, W. (1996) Mullidae. Goatfishes. p. 1034-1037. In H.G. Moser (ed.) The early stages of fishes in the California Current region. California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) Atlas No. 33. 1505p.
Comments On Mullus auratus