English
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Triglia di Fango - Mullus barbatus
Triglia di scoglio - Mullus surmuletus
Triglia linea-punto - Parupeneus barberinus
Triglia Tropicale - Parupeneus cyclostomus
Goatfishes are perciform fish of the family Mullidae. The family is also sometimes referred to as the red mullets, which also refers more narrowly to the genus Mullus.
Goatfishes Mullidae Triglie Mullidi Oceans Oceani intotheblue.it
The family name and the English common name “mullet” name are derived from Latin mullus, the red mullet; but other than the red mullet and the striped red mullet or surmullet, the English word mullet generally refers to a different family of fish, the Mugilidae or grey mullets.
Description
Goatfishes are characterized by a pair of chin barbels, which contain chemosensory organs and are used to probe the sand or holes in the reef for food. Their bodies are deep and elongated, with forked tails and widely separated dorsal fins. The first dorsal fin has 6-8 spines; the second dorsal has one spine and 8-9 soft rays, shorter than anal fin. Spines in anal fin 1 or 2, with 5-8 soft rays. They have 24 vertebrae.
Many goatfishes are brightly colored. The largest species, the dash-and-dot goatfish (Parupeneus barberinus), grows to 60 cm in length; most species are less than half this size. Within the family are six genera and about eighty-six species.
Distribution and habitat
Goatfishes are distributed worldwide in tropical, subtropical and temperate waters. Goatfishes occur in a range of habitats. Most species are associated with the bottom of the littoral, but some species of Upeneus can be deep; for example the goatfish Upeneus davidaromi can be found to depths of 500 m. Tropical goatfishes live in association with coral reefs. Some species, such as the freckled goatfish(Upeneus tragula) enter estuaries and rivers, although not to any great extent.
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