406 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



Material over S2 mm? 



A. Opercular spine (figs. 23 and 43). 



B. Scales 27-31, usually three large 

 black blotches along lateral line 

 (fig. 3), posterior wing of cleithrum 



serrated (fig. 23) 



Pseud/upeTiev^ maculatus. 



BB. Scales 34-39, no black blotches along 

 lateral line, posterior wing of clei- 



thnim not serrated (fig. 43) 



Muiloidichthys martinimis. 



AA. No opercular spine. 



C. Minute first dorsal spine (fig. 28), 

 fused palato-vomerine tooth patch 

 (fig. 31), lower-limb gill rakers 

 12-15 Mullus a/uratus. 



CC. No minute first dorsal spine (fig. 37), 

 separate vomer and palatine tooth 

 patches, lower-limb gill rakers 17- 

 19 Upeneiis parvtis. 



COMPARISON OF SPECIES 



Fishes of the family Mullidae, referred to as 

 goatfishes or surmullets, are characterized by the 

 presence of two barbels beneath the chin. Barbel 

 development is discussed in the section on barbels 

 under 31. aiirahts. Larvae of juveniles which have 

 not developed barbels, or in which the barbels \\vl\& 

 not detached from the branchiostegal membrane, 

 can be distinguished by the presence of six to eight 

 spines in the fii-st dorsal fin (Jordan and Ever- 

 mann, 1896) and a reduced number of branch- 

 iostegal rays (four before the barbels fonn, three 

 after barbel formation). Juvenile Mullidae are 

 most often confused with young Mugilidae, to 

 which they bear a close superficial resemlilance. 

 Mugilidae, however, have only four spines in the 

 first doi-sal fin (Jordan and Evermann, 1896). 



Table 1 (p. 403) lists the major characters of the 

 four species of Mullidae of the western North At- 

 lantic. The table applies only to specimens above 

 a size of 50 mm. For specimens below 50 mm., 

 changes which occur in the various cliaracters are 

 discussed for the species in their individual 

 sections. 



Fin ray counts of the spinous doreal, soft dorsal, 

 anal, pelvic, and caudal fins were constant through- 

 out the size ranges examined, and ranges of pec- 



^ Based upon 16 specimens of P. marulatuK, 27 M. mnrtinicui'. 

 20 M. auratus, and 11 U. pari-us. 



toral ray counts are constant above 22 mm. When 

 lateral line scales are present, counts show no 

 variability with size of specimen. There is no 

 change in the number of branchiostegal rays 

 (three) after the barbels form (below 20 mm.). 



Below 50 mm., the numbers of pectoral fin rays 

 vary somewhat with size of fish. 



The adult tooth patterns are not established 

 below 50 mm., and in P. vm-culattis, not before 

 100 mm. 



The opercular spine of P. maculatus (and pre- 

 sumbaly M. martinicios) is apparent at 21.9 mm. 

 The serrated upper wing of the cleithrum in P. 

 m.a-culatii'S, however, is not obvious below 50 mm. 



Adult color patterns become established after 

 metamorphosis, which occurs between 40 and 70 

 nun. 



Morphometric relationships are shown graph- 

 ically in figures 9 through 21 (p. 415^27). 



ECOLOGY OF THE MULLIDAE 



Thorson (1957) estimated that 85 to 90 percent 

 of all species in tropical level-bottom communities 

 have a long pelagic life, and two-thirds (on the 

 average) of the level-bottom animals of the boreal 

 seas have pelagic larvae. Hubbs (1941) has 

 pointed out that fishes inhabiting rocks, sand, or 

 weed may have a pelagic stage which is quite 

 different from the adult. The difference is so 

 marked in some species that the two stages have 

 been described and named as different species by 

 competent ichthyologists (Hubbs, 1958; Breder, 

 1949). In a recent paper Caldwell (1962) has 

 given a detailed analysis of this transformation in 

 Pseudopriacanthtts altus (Gill). 



Four- of the six genera of this family are repre- 

 sented in the western North Atlantic. The young 

 of P. maculatus, M. auratus, and U. parvus, repre- 

 senting three of the four genera in the western 

 North Atlantic, have a pelagic stage differing in 

 body shape and coloration from a subsequent in- 

 shore stage. A pelagic stage is also indicated 

 within the genus Panvpeneus. Gosline and Brock 

 (1960) commented that the young of Panipenem 

 porphyreus (Jenkins), a Pacific mullid, appear in 

 shallow water at approximately 40 mm. 



As no M. martinicus smaller than 82.5 mm. have 

 been taken, the possibility exists that this species 

 does not have a pelagic stage. In addition, I have 

 examined approximately 50 collections of pre- 

 metamorphosed mullids from the Pacific coast of 



