Percesoces and Rhegnopteri 219 
The Mullets: Mugilide.—The mullets (Mugilide) are more 
clumsy in form than the silversides, robust, with broad heads 
and stouter fin-spines. The ventral fins are abdominal but 
well forward, the pelvis barely touching the clavicle, a con- 
dition to be defined as “‘subabdominal.’”’ The small mouth 
is armed with very feeble teeth, often reduced to mere fringes. 
The stomach is muscular like the gizzard of a fowl and 
the species feed largely on the vegetation contained in mud. 
There are numerous species, mostly living in shallow bays 
and estuaries, but some of them are confined to fresh waters. 
All are valued as food and some of them under favorable con- 
ditions are especially excellent. 
Most of the species belong to the genera Mugil, the mullet of 
all English-speaking people, although not at all related to the 
red mullet or surmullet of the ancient Romans, Mullus barbatus. 
The mullets are stoutish fish from one to two feet long, 
with blunt heads, small mouths almost toothless, large scales, 
and a general bluish-silvery color often varied by faint blue 
stripes. The most important species is Mugil cephalus, the 
common striped mullet This is found throughout southern 
Europe and from Cape Cod to Brazil, from Monterey, California, 
to Chile, and across the Pacific to Hawaii, Japan, and the Red 
Sea. Among specimens from all these regions we can detect no 
difference. 
Professor Goode gives the following account of its habits: 
“The large mullets begin to assemble along the Florida 
coast in schools in the height of summer, probably preparatory 
to spawning, and at this time the eggs commence to mature. 
In this season they swim at the surface, and are then pursued 
by enemies in the water and the air, and also fall an easy prey to 
the fishermen. They appear to prefer to swim against the 
wind, and school best with a northeast wind. They also run 
against the tide. In Florida the spawning season seems to 
extend from the middle of November to the middle of January. 
Some of the fishermen say that they go on the mud-flats and 
oyster-beds at the mouth of the river to deposit their eggs. 
What becomes of them after this no one seems to know, but 
it is probable that they spread themselves over the whole sur- 
face of water-covered country in such a manner as not to be 
