Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal; catadromous (Ref. 46888); depth range 2 - 15 m (Ref. 130217). Subtropical; 65°N - 12°N, 24°W - 36°E
Eastern Atlantic: Scandinavia and Iceland (Ref. 4537) south to Senegal and Cape Verde. Also Mediterranean Sea; southwestern Black Sea (Ref. 2058).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 29.5  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 75.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 35388); common length : 32.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7399); max. published weight: 4.5 kg (Ref. 35388); max. reported age: 25 years (Ref. 35388)
Adults are found inshore in schools, frequently entering brackish lagoons and freshwater (Ref. 30578). They migrate occasionally tending to move northward in summer-time as temperatures rise. Females are larger than males (Ref. 59043). Adults feed mainly on benthic diatoms, epiphytic algae, small invertebrates and detritus (Ref. 2804), juveniles only feed on zooplankton (Ref. 59043). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Reproduction occurs in the sea during winter (Ref. 30578). Eggs and larvae pelagic. Utilized as a food fish (Ref. 4645).
Juveniles around 2.0 cm SL move to coastal lagoons and estuaries in April-June and return to sea in summer (Ref. 59043).
Thomson, J.M., 1986. Mugilidae. p. 344-349. In J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ISNB, Brussels, MRAC; Tervuren; and ORSTOM, Paris. Vol. 2. (Ref. 3573)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 8.8 - 20.1, mean 11 °C (based on 420 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5005 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00724 (0.00559 - 0.00939), b=3.11 (3.03 - 3.19), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 2.6 ±0.32 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.12-0.17; tm=3; tmax=25).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): High vulnerability (63 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref.
125649): Moderate to high vulnerability (51 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 39.2 [10.7, 335.3] mg/100g; Iron = 0.623 [0.303, 1.151] mg/100g; Protein = 17.9 [16.5, 19.5] %; Omega3 = 0.399 [0.166, 0.964] g/100g; Selenium = 9.58 [3.60, 24.88] μg/100g; VitaminA = 7.52 [2.12, 24.93] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.571 [0.342, 0.951] mg/100g (wet weight); based on
nutrient studies.